10 Days in: A healthcare perspective of Donald Trump's US Withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO)

Written By Marquez Apodaca

In Donald Trump’s first few days back in office, he has signed over a hundred executive orders affecting and changing many policies such as immigration, environment, and many more on controversial topics. He has pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Treaty to end gender-discrimination laws but many have not been informed on his orders and that effectively changes healthcare in the US for every American.

Donald Trump’s decision to leave the World Healthcare Organization

Going with his criticism of the World Healthcare Organization for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump wrote to the attorney general that the US is withdrawing from the healthcare organization in July 2020. Although on Jan 20, 2021, Joe Biden’s first day in office, he blocked it from going into effect never materializing Trump’s plan. Since Tru did decide to put this executive order into effect so early into his second term, his plans could actually be happening but still requires more for the government to agree with this momentous decision. In order for his executive order to go through, it usually requires the country to send a one-year notice before withdrawing, but since he tried to do this same exact thing at the end of the first term he is arguing that the previous attempt was t prior notice. The President can act unilaterally but political oppositions and legal challenges could complicate or block the process. What about why this is happening, what if it happens, and can it ever be reversed?

Background

"World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It's not going to happen anymore," Trump said at the signing of an executive order on withdrawal, shortly after his inauguration to a second term of the US presidency. Donald Trump’s reasons and explanation for his quick move to withdraw from the US just 8 hours after taking his inauguration oath included, “The United States noticed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states”

The administration also complained of the US having to pay “unfairly onerous payments” and also criticized China for having to pay less than 90 percent of the US while having more than 300 percent of the US’s current population.

Will it happen?

With the organization’s agreement with the US, designates them to give a one-year notice for any loose payments and balance the US would have to pay but it is unclear if Trump’s order to withdraw from the organization will require Congress approval since the decision to join the organization was made in a joint congress decision but the US president does have the power to withdraw; WHO said they regret the announcement that the US intends to withdraw, pointing out that the US was a founding member of the organization in 1948 and has been since then, “We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.” The WHO expressed their sense of disagreement with the US’s decision.

What’s next?

Donald Trump brought up the idea on Saturday at a rally in Las Vegas that he may consider rejoining the World Health Organization, saying "Maybe we would consider doing it again. I don't know. Maybe we would have to clean it up a little bit” But if this statement does not pan out, and the US goes ahead and withdraws from the organization, the withdrawal will generate a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for the WHO’s core budget. In response to this, WHO has already frozen recruitment and slashed travel funds. The WHO's funds support programs to prevent and treat polio, tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, measles, and other diseases, especially in countries that struggle to provide health care domestically. The organization also responds to health emergencies in conflict zones including places where the U.S. government doesn't operate — in parts of Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others. - “What a US exit from the WHO means for global health. CBS News, January 24, 2025.

This means that the United States withdrawal from the organization shows a hint of what he is planning to do in his second term, and what he has already done. In Donald Trump’s first day of office, he withdrew from several alliances and global treaties, alliances, and countries coming together to combat issues like climate change, energy, healthcare, etc. He has pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Treaty, which is a global accord that implements the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He has also angered several allies of the US, including Denmark where he recently had a heated phone conversation with the Prime Minister over the potential purchase of Greenland, and also Colombia over the incident of Colombia denying a migration plane, but since then the two have reached a deal. All of this occurred just in one week of his presidency, this is not just a warning of Trump’s intentions but a clear demonstration of his unwillingness to choose to listen to the experts around him. "This is the darkest day for global health I’ve ever experienced," said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. The potential consequences of leaving the organization which America has been such a long member could be a danger to the future of healthcare and America, which is why there is an emphasis on why all of America needs to be educated on these topics

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Marquez Apodaca
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