WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), a decision that would cut off one of the international aid and disease response group’s largest funding sources.
Details of the order, which was among a flurry of executive actions Trump signed Monday in the Oval Office, were not immediately available.
"That's a big one," Trump said before signing the document.
The Geneva-based WHO plays a pivotal role in battling global health threats, focusing on infectious diseases as well as humanitarian crises and chronic health conditions, like cancer and heart diseases. A US exit could leave it short of critical funding. During the 2024-2025 budget cycle, US contributions came to US$662 million, or 19% of the agency's total revenue, according to the WHO.
Toward the end of his first term, Trump tried to pull the US out of the international health body, saying that it deferred too much to the Chinese government in the early days of the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak and did not act quickly enough to contain the disease. The move was widely criticised by both health advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who called it a political maneuver aimed at shifting blame for the administration's disastrous response to the Covid pandemic.
When it became a WHO member in 1948, the US decided that a withdrawal would be preceded by a one-year notice period and full payment of financial obligations. President Joe Biden reversed Trump's effort upon taking office in January 2021, before the notice period expired.
Whether the American president has the authority to exit the WHO without congressional approval is unclear, according to a 2020 Congressional Research Service report. Still, the chances that the Republican-controlled Congress would block Trump's move appear small.
A US departure would strike a severe blow to the agency that played a key role in the eradication of smallpox worldwide and continues to fight contagious diseases such as HIV and polio. The WHO is currently responding to health emergencies including outbreaks of cholera, dengue, mpox and Marburg virus.
US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday. (Photo: Bloomberg)
Trump on Monday also ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance pending assessments of efficiencies and consistency with US foreign policy.
"All department and agency heads with responsibility for United States foreign development assistance programs shall immediately pause new obligations and disbursements of development assistance funds," read the executive order signed by Trump.