Trump signs executive order to withdraw from the World Health Organization

Donald Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the World Health Organization, criticizing the global health agency for its mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises.

The move means that the U.S. will leave the WHO in 12 months and cease all financial contributions, with the U.S. being the largest financial contributor to the organization, accounting for about 18% of its total funding. The WHO's budget for 2024-2025 is set at $6.8 billion.

Trump also signed an executive order to pause foreign development aid for 90 days, pending a review.

He accused the WHO of failing to act without the influence of member states' politics and of demanding “unfairly burdensome payments” from the U.S., which he claimed were disproportionate compared to contributions from larger countries like China.

“World Health ripped us off, everyone rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” Trump said during the signing.

Trump’s decision to pull out of the WHO was anticipated, as he had previously moved to withdraw the U.S. from the organization in 2020, accusing the WHO of helping China mislead the world about the origins of Covid-19.

The WHO has strongly rejected this claim, asserting that it continues to push China for more data to determine whether the virus originated from human-animal contact or from research in a Chinese laboratory.