Mere hours after the oath of office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would remove the U.S. from the World Health Organization. The move comes nearly 5 years after Trump signed a similar order in July 2020, during the height of the pandemic. It was quickly reversed by President Joe Biden in 2021 before it could take effect.
The U.S. is the largest funder of WHO, giving over $1.2 billion between 2022-23. The organization, run by the United Nations, “leads global efforts to expand universal health coverage.” Although Trump’s order will not take effect for a year as per WHO rules, this withdrawal will open up the doors for public health catastrophes, both domestic and abroad.
Trump’s original idea to leave WHO came in 2020 in response to the organization’s response to COVID-19, claiming it “mismanaged and covered up” details of the virus. According to Alan Bernstein, the director of the Global Health Initiative at Oxford, said “WHO was crucial in convincing China to release the genetic sequence early in 2020, which was the basis of the vaccines developed in the US.”
WHO played a large part in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and vaccine development worldwide, as well as containment and eradication of other deadly diseases such as smallpox and ebola.
By removing a large portion of its funding, employees and one of its largest member states, WHO will likely struggle to quickly detect, contain and develop vaccines for any new infectious diseases that may arise in the coming years. The organization’s yearly budget is between $2-3 billion, meaning it would lose about a sixth to a quarter of its total budget.
By withdrawing, the U.S. will lose a major place on the global health stage, allowing other member nations such as China and Russia to take its place. After Trump tried to leave WHO during his first term, China gave $30 million to the agency. If the withdrawal goes through, the U.S. will also be the only member of the United Nations that is not a member of WHO except for Lichentenstien.
This stunt from the Trump administration comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who has perpuated claims of the negative effects of fluoride in water supplies, is in the process of being appointed as the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the highest ranking health official in the country.
Trump and many of those in his cabinet also have a poor track record when it comes to public health, especially infectious diseases such as COVID-19. During the pandemic, he and others toted the virus as a “hoax” and pushed disinformation about it and the severity. The administration also just halted meetings, travel and communication within the National Institute of Health, the main government agency concerned with public health.
By pulling U.S. support of WHO, frequently downplaying the credibility of public health officials and surrounding himself with people who support his rhetoric, Trump is setting not only the U.S. but the rest of the world for a global health crisis similar to COVID-19. Without the desperately needed funding, WHO will not be able to be near as effective in fighting infectious diseases as they could be.
Ethan Herx is a sophomore studying photojournalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to share your thoughts? Let Ethan know by emailing or tweeting them at eh481422@ohio.edu or @ethanherx.
