The United States (US) formally withdraws from the World Health Organization (WHO) after the Trump administration notifies the US congress and the United Nations.
In the notice sent to the secretary-general of the United Nations, a US State Department official stated that the US’s intention to withdraw is effective on July 6, 2021, drawing a one-year timeline.
The Trump administration’s decision comes following a threat Donald Trump made about quitting the WHO on Twitter in May.
Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, on twitter, announced the move saying, “Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the U.S. from the @WHO in the midst of a pandemic. To call Trump’s response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn’t do it justice. This won’t protect American lives or interests – it leaves Americans sick & America alone.”
The US President Donald Trump has continuously criticised the WHO by saying that it “failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms,” by stating that the US’ contribution to the WHO of $400-500 million is bigger in comparison to China’s contribution and also by accusing the WHO of aiding China in allegedly covering up the origins of the virus and allowing its spread.
Trump in his tweet on May 16, 2020, said “Why is it that China, for decades, and with a population much bigger than ours, is paying a tiny fraction of $’s to The World Health Organization, The United Nations and, worst of all, The World Trade Organization, where they are considered a so-called “developing country” and…”
This move comes amid the COVID-19 virus surging globally and in the US.
The heads of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians and American College of Physicians condemned the move by stating, “This dangerous withdrawal not only impacts the global response against COVID-19 but also undermines efforts to address other major public health threats,” and that they “call on Congress to reject the Administration’s withdrawal from the WHO and make every effort to preserve the United States’ relationship with this valued global institution. Now is the time to invest in global health, rather than turn back.”
In response to this move the president and executive director of Global Health Council, Loyce Pace, said, “Thousands of people have spoken, from health experts to heads of state and heroes on the frontlines: the world needs WHO. This move signals a dangerous gamble in the midst of a pandemic we have yet to conquer, and without a viable alternative to WHO.”