LWHO defrauded us”, accused the Republican when signing this decree, just a few hours after being invested, justifying this withdrawal by the gap in American and Chinese financial contributions.
In this text, he urges federal agencies to “suspend the future transfer of any funds, support, or resources from the United States Government to the WHO” and urges them to “identify credible American and international partners“capable of“take over activities previously undertaken by WHO”.
The United States is the main donor and partner of this UN organization based in Geneva. According to the WHO, they contribute to its financing via a contribution indexed to their GDP, but also through voluntary contributions.
Their departure from the organization is expected to trigger a significant restructuring of the institution and could harm global public health efforts, including surveillance and outbreak control.
In particular, WHO plays a central coordinating role during global health emergencies.
During his first term, Donald Trump had already tried to get the country out of this organization that he accused of being “controlled by China”. His successor Joe Biden, however, canceled this withdrawal before it came into force, with the UN providing for a delay of one year between the announcement and the actual exit.
“The decision to leave (the WHO) weakens America’s influence, increases the risk of a deadly pandemic and makes us all more vulnerable”, castigated on X, Tom Frieden, former senior health official under the administration of Barack Obama.
-By withdrawing from the organization, the United States will lose privileged access to important epidemic surveillance data, several experts have warned, which could harm the surveillance and prevention capabilities of health threats from the stranger.
American health agencies and pharmaceutical companies also depend on the WHO.to obtain the data necessary for the development of vaccines and therapies”, notes Lawrence Gostin, professor of public health law at Georgetown University.
“Instead of being the first to receive vaccines, we will be at the back of the line. WHO Withdrawal Inflicts Deep Wound on U.S. Security and Our Competitive Innovation Advantage”, he regretted on X.
This withdrawal is all the more worrying as it comes at a time when the strong circulation of the avian flu virus in the United States is heightening fears of a next pandemic.
The country recorded its first human death linked to the H5N1 virus in early January.
