Trump's Team Plans to Withdraw from WHO on Inauguration Day

According to a report from Xinhua News Agency, the British Financial Times revealed on the 22nd that President-elect Trump's team is working to ensure that the United States withdraws from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the first day of Trump's presidency. This is not the first time Trump has proposed such a move. During his first term, after the global outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, Trump announced in April that he would suspend funding to the WHO until an evaluation of its handling of the pandemic in its early stages was conducted. On July 6 of the same year, the White House officially notified Congress that the U.S. would withdraw from the WHO effective immediately.

According to a statement from the WHO on July 7, 2020, the U.S. became a contracting party to the organization on June 21, 1948. When the WHO accepted the U.S. as a member, specific conditions were set for future withdrawals, including a one-year notice and full payment of assessed contributions. In 2021, Biden announced on his first day as president that the U.S. would stop the withdrawal from the WHO.

Dr. Ashish Jha, former COVID response coordinator for the Biden administration and dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, noted that Trump's transition team hopes to withdraw from the WHO on Trump’s inauguration day to overturn Biden's decision to keep the U.S. in the organization, a move that holds symbolic significance. As the largest single donor to the WHO, the U.S. contributed about 16% of the organization's funding in 2022-2023. However, this contribution ratio has significantly decreased compared to several years ago. According to the WHO's website, from 2016 to 2017, the U.S. contributed nearly $950 million, accounting for 76% of the organization's voluntary donations.

The WHO stated that U.S. funding plays a crucial role in eliminating polio, crisis response, and tackling the Ebola epidemic. A statement from the U.S. Department of State in September 2020 indicated that the specific measures for the U.S. to withdraw included gradually reducing contact with the WHO, recalling staff from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and reallocating these experts. U.S. participation in WHO technical meetings and activities would be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Experts believe that the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO could have catastrophic impacts on global public health. Lawrence Gostin, a global health professor at Georgetown University Law Center, pointed out that the withdrawal would leave a significant void in global health financing and leadership. He also predicted that if the U.S. withdrew, European countries would be unlikely to increase their funding. Gostin further predicted that the WHO would face challenging years ahead, increasing the difficulties in global responses to public health crises and potentially leading to significant cuts in research personnel.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated this month that the organization still hopes to collaborate with U.S. decision-makers and is ready for cooperation. He emphasized that the U.S. would not be safe unless other countries in the world are safe.

From Trump's appointments of health department officials, it appears that U.S. healthcare institutions will face significant reforms. For example, Trump nominated vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next Secretary of Health, a decision that has sparked widespread controversy. Kennedy has been criticized for spreading false medical claims, including those regarding the link between vaccines and autism. Before his nomination, he vowed to "clean up" the FDA, accusing pharmaceutical companies of bearing most of the FDA's expenses and claiming that the agency's staff are serving large pharmaceutical and food companies.

He stated on social media: "If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Keep your records, 2. Pack your bags." The FDA oversees nearly $3 trillion worth of drugs, food, and tobacco products and has nearly 20,000 employees.

Analysts from the Royal Bank of Canada believe that Kennedy's appointment could have far-reaching and unpredictable impacts on the biotechnology industry, increasing significant uncertainty and challenging investment capabilities.