The United States has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO), ending its membership on Thursday and marking a significant shift in global health cooperation.
The move follows more than a year of warnings from public health experts that a U.S. exit could weaken disease surveillance and response efforts both at home and worldwide.
President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal on the first day of his presidency in 2025, citing what his administration described as failures by the United Nations health agency in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was confirmed in a joint statement by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and State.
According to the statement, the United States will maintain only limited engagement with the WHO as part of the withdrawal process.
A senior U.S. health official said Washington has no plans to participate as an observer or to rejoin the organization in the future. Instead, the U.S. intends to work directly with individual countries on disease surveillance, outbreak response, and other public health priorities, bypassing multilateral frameworks.
The withdrawal has sparked a dispute over outstanding U.S. financial obligations. Under U.S. law, the country is required to give one year’s notice and pay all dues owed—estimated at around $260 million—before leaving the WHO. However, a State Department official disputed that the statute requires payment prior to withdrawal.
“The American people have paid more than enough,” a State Department spokesperson said.
HHS confirmed that all U.S. funding contributions to the WHO have been halted. An HHS spokesperson said the president exercised his authority to pause future transfers of U.S. resources, arguing that the organization’s actions during the pandemic had imposed enormous economic costs on the country.
In Geneva, witnesses reported that the U.S. flag was removed from outside the WHO headquarters, symbolizing the end of Washington’s decades-long membership. The move comes amid a broader U.S. pullback from several United Nations bodies in recent weeks, prompting concerns that the international system could be further weakened.
The WHO said the United States has not yet paid its assessed contributions for 2024 and 2025, and member states are expected to discuss the departure at the agency’s executive board meeting in February.
Global health leaders have urged the U.S. to reconsider. Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, said he does not expect a quick reversal but will continue advocating for renewed engagement. “The world needs the World Health Organization,” he said.
The U.S. exit has already triggered a financial crisis at the WHO. Washington was the agency’s largest donor, providing about 18% of its total funding. As a result, the WHO has cut its management team in half, scaled back programs, and plans to reduce its workforce by about a quarter by mid-year.
Public health experts warn the consequences could be far-reaching. “The U.S. withdrawal from WHO could weaken the systems the world relies on to detect, prevent, and respond to health threats,” said Kelly Henning of Bloomberg Philanthropies.
