US completes withdrawal from World Health Organization
[January 23, 2026]
By MIKE STOBBE and DEVI SHASTRI
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. has finalized its withdrawal from the World
Health Organization, one year after President Donald Trump announced
America was ending its 78-year-old commitment, federal officials said
Thursday.
But it's hardly a clean break.
The U.S. owes more than $130 million to the global health agency,
according to WHO. And Trump administration officials acknowledge that
they haven't finished working out some issues, such as lost access to
data from other countries that could give America an early warning of a
new pandemic.
The withdrawal will hurt the global response to new outbreaks and will
hobble the ability of U.S. scientists and pharmaceutical companies to
develop vaccines and medicines against new threats, said Lawrence Gostin,
a public health law expert at Georgetown University.
“In my opinion, it’s the most ruinous presidential decision in my
lifetime,” he said.
The WHO is the United Nations’ specialized health agency and is mandated
to coordinate the response to global health threats, such as outbreaks
of mpox, Ebola and polio. It also provides technical assistance to
poorer countries; helps distribute scarce vaccines, supplies and
treatments; and sets guidelines for hundreds of health conditions,
including mental health and cancer.
Nearly every country in the world is a member.
Trump cited COVID-19 in pulling US from WHO
U.S. officials helped lead the WHO's creation, and America has long been
among the organization's biggest donors, providing hundreds of millions
of dollars and hundreds of staffers with specialized public health
expertise.
On average, the U.S. pays $111 million a year in member dues to the WHO
and roughly $570 million more in annual voluntary contributions,
according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In an executive order issued right after taking office, Trump said the
U.S. was withdrawing from WHO due to the organization’s mishandling of
the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises. He also cited the
agency’s “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms” and its “inability
to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence
of WHO member states.”
WHO, like other public health organizations, made costly mistakes during
the pandemic, including at one point advising people against wearing
masks. It also asserted that COVID-19 wasn’t airborne, a stance it
didn’t officially reverse until 2024.
Another Trump administration complaint: None of WHO's chief executives —
there have been nine since the organization was created in 1948 — have
been Americans. Administration officials view that as unfair given how
much the WHO relies on U.S. financial contributions and on U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention personnel.
Public health experts say US exit will hobble responses to threats
Experts say the U.S. exit could cripple numerous global health
initiatives, including the effort to eradicate polio, maternal and child
health programs, and research to identify new viral threats.
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Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus, left, delivers his statement, during the
opening of the 78th World Health Assembly at the European
headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 19,
2025. (Magali Girardin/Keystone via AP, File)
 Dr. Ronald Nahass, president of the
Infectious Diseases Society of America, called the U.S. withdrawal
“shortsighted and misguided” and “scientifically reckless.”
The U.S. has ceased official participation in WHO-sponsored
committees, leadership bodies, governance structures and technical
working groups. That would seem to include the WHO group that
assesses what flu strains are circulating and makes critical
decisions about updating flu shots.
It also signals the U.S. is no longer participating in global flu
information-sharing that guides vaccine decisions.
Such disease intelligence has helped Americans be “at the front of
the line” when new outbreaks occur and new vaccines and medicines
are quickly needed to counteract them and save lives, Gostin said.
Trump administration officials say they already have public health
relationships with many countries and are working to ensure direct
sharing of that kind of information, rather than having WHO serve as
a middleman. But U.S. officials did not give specifics about how
many such arrangements are in place.
Gostin, an expert on international public health treaties and
collaborations, said it's unlikely the U.S. will reach agreements
with more than a couple dozen countries.
Many emerging viruses are first spotted in China, but “is China
going to sign a contract with the United States?” Gostin said. “Are
countries in Africa going to do it? Are the countries Trump has
slapped with a huge tariff going to send us their data? The claim is
almost laughable.”
Gostin also believes Trump overstepped his authority in pulling out
of WHO. The U.S. joined the organization through an act of Congress
and it is supposed to take an act of Congress to withdraw, he
argued.
US still owes money, WHO says
The U.S. is legally required to give notice one year in advance of
withdrawal — which it did — but also to pay any outstanding
financial obligations.
The U.S. has not paid any of its dues for 2024 and 2025, leaving a
balance of more than $133 million, according to WHO.
An administration official denied that requirement Thursday, saying
the U.S. had no obligation to pay prior to withdrawing as a member.
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Shastri reported from Milwaukee.
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