The United States will leave the World Health Organisation, President Donald Trump said on Monday, saying the global health agency had mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises.Trump said the WHO had failed to act independently from the "inappropriate political influence of WHO member states" and required "unfairly onerous payments" from the U.S. that were disproportionate to the sums provided by other, larger countries, such as China."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 the withdrawal, shortly after his inauguration to a second term.The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.When asked about Trump's decision and remarks, China's foreign ministry told a regular press briefing on Tuesday that the role of the WHO in global health governance should only be strengthened, not weakened."China will continue to support the WHO in fulfilling its responsibilities, and deepen international public health cooperation," said Guo Jiakun, a ministry spokesperson.The move means the U.S. will leave the United Nations health agency in 12 months' time and stop all financial contributions to its work. The United States is by far the WHO's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. WHO's most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.The U.S. departure will likely put at risk programs across the organisation, according to several experts both inside and outside the WHO, notably those tackling tuberculosis, the world’s biggest infectious disease killer, as well as HIV/AIDS and other health emergencies.Trump's order said the administration would cease negotiations on the WHO pandemic treaty while the withdrawal is in progress. U.S. government personnel working with the WHO will be recalled and reassigned, and the government will look for partners to take over necessary WHO activities, according to the order.The government will review, rescind, and replace the 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy as soon as practicable, the order said.
