The United States is set to formally withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday, a move that has triggered strong warnings from global health and legal experts, according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump announced the decision on the first day of his second term in 2025 through an executive order. Although, under U.S. law, Washington is required to give a one-year notice and clear all outstanding dues before leaving the UN health agency. The WHO says the U.S. still owes around $260 million in unpaid fees for 2024 and 2025.
Despite this, the U.S. State Department defended the decision on Thursday, accusing the WHO of mishandling global health crises.
“The American people have paid more than enough to this organization, and this economic hit is far beyond a down payment on any financial obligations to the organization,” a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The spokesperson added that the WHO’s failure to “contain, manage and share information” had cost the U.S. trillions of dollars, prompting the president to halt future transfers of U.S. funds, support, or resources to the agency.
Reuters reported that, according to legal experts, the move violates U.S. law. “This is a clear violation of U.S. law,” said Lawrence Gostin, founding director of the O’Neill Institute for Global Health Law at Georgetown University. “But Trump is highly likely to get away with it.”
Global health leaders have repeatedly urged Washington to reconsider. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus renewed his appeal earlier this month.
“I hope the U.S. will reconsider and rejoin WHO,” he told reporters. “Withdrawing from the WHO is a loss for the United States, and it’s a loss for the rest of the world.”
The issue is expected to be discussed at the WHO’s executive board meeting in February, according to a WHO spokesperson.
According to Reuters, the U.S. exit has already pushed the WHO into a budget crisis. Washington has historically been the agency’s largest donor, providing about 18% of its total funding. The loss has forced the WHO to cut its senior management team by half, slash programs, and plan workforce reductions of around 25% by mid-year.
“The U.S. withdrawal from WHO could weaken the systems and collaborations the world relies on to detect, prevent, and respond to health threats,” said Kelly Henning, public health program lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies.
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