US plans to leave the World Health Organization

 The U.S. is set to officially leave the World Health Organization on Thursday, despite warnings that it could harm both national and global health, and in violation of a law requiring Washington to pay the U.N. health agency $260 million in owed fees.

On his first day in office in 2025, President Donald Trump announced via executive order that the U.S. would leave the organization. According to U.S. law, the country must give a year’s notice and settle all outstanding fees before officially departing.

On Thursday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said the WHO’s failure to contain, manage, and share information had cost the U.S. trillions of dollars, and the president used his authority to halt any future transfer of U.S. government funds, support, or resources to the WHO.

“The American people have already paid more than enough to this organization, and this financial hit goes well beyond a down payment on any obligations owed to it,” the spokesperson said in an email.

On Thursday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said the WHO’s failure to contain, manage, and share information had cost the U.S. trillions of dollars, and the president had used his authority to halt any future transfer of U.S. government funds, support, or resources to the WHO.

“The American people have paid more than enough to this organization and this economic hit is beyond a down payment on any financial obligations to the organization,” the spokesperson said by email.

“I hope the U.S. will reconsider and rejoin WHO,” he told reporters at a press conference earlier this month. “Withdrawing from the WHO is a lose for the United States, and it’s a lose for the rest of the world.”

The WHO mentioned that the U.S. still hasn’t paid its fees for 2024 and 2025. According to a WHO spokesperson, member states will talk about the U.S. leaving and how to manage it during the organization’s executive board meeting in February, as shared with Reuters via email.

“This is a clear violation of U.S. law,” said Lawrence Gostin, founding director of the O’Neill Institute for Global Health Law at Georgetown University in Washington, a close observer of the WHO. “But Trump is highly likely to get away with it.”

Speaking to Reuters at Davos, Bill Gates – chair of the Gates Foundation, a major funder of global health initiatives and some of the WHO’s work – said he did not expect the U.S. to reconsider in the short-term.

“I don’t think the U.S. will be coming back to WHO in the near future,” he said, adding that when he had an opportunity to advocate for it, he would. “The world needs the World Health Organization.”

The U.S. leaving the WHO has triggered a budget crisis, forcing the agency to cut its management team in half and scale back operations, with budget cuts across the board. The U.S. has long been the WHO’s largest financial supporter, contributing about 18% of its total funding. As a result, the organization plans to lay off roughly a quarter of its staff by midyear.

The agency said it has been working with the U.S. and sharing information in the last year. It was unclear how the collaboration will work going forward.

Global health experts warned that this could pose risks for the U.S., the WHO, and the rest of the world.

Kelly Henning, who leads the public health program at the U.S.-based non-profit Bloomberg Philanthropies, said the U.S. pulling out of the WHO could undermine the systems and partnerships the world depends on to spot, prevent, and tackle health threats.