LIVE – Withdrawal from the Paris and WHO agreements, customs duties, assault on the Capitol… Donald Trump’s first shock decrees

The American president signed an executive order on Monday aimed at withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO), an organization that he had in the past strongly criticized for its management of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The WHO defrauded us”accused the Republican when signing this decree, just a few hours after being inaugurated, 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 enjoins them to“identify credible American and international partners” capable of“assume 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.

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.