Trump withdraws the US from the World Health Organization

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, signed a decree this Monday (20), the day he officially took office, which removes the country from the World Health Organization (WHO). The decision reflects criticism that the president had already made to the organization for its actions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trump justified the measure by saying that the United States, the WHO’s largest funder, was treated “unfairly.” He highlighted that, despite the significant American contribution to the entity’s budget — US$6.8 billion in 2023 alone —, the expected return in terms of transparency and efficiency was not met.

“The World Health Organization deceived us”, declared the president when signing the decree, reinforcing that the financial burden imposed on the USA was “disproportionate” compared to countries like China.

The presidential decree states that the WHO “continues to demand unfairly burdensome payments from the United States.” The White House also pointed out the organization’s failures in managing the pandemic – which began in Wuhan, China – and denounced its lack of independence in relation to the political influence of its member countries, as well as the absence of urgent reforms in the entity’s structure. .

The official withdrawal marks Trump’s second attempt to sever ties between the US and the WHO. In 2020, during his first term, he had already started the exit process, but was unable to complete the plan due to legal restrictions and the change of government with the inauguration of Joe Biden in early 2021, who quickly reversed the decision.