Trump on his first day back at the White House. Image: FOX6
(The Post News)- On his first day back at the White House, President Donald Trump, issued an executive action. He wants to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). Additionally, president Trump is fulfilling one of his campaign mandates to reject global institutions.
During the previous Trump administration, the United States filed a notice of intent to withdraw from WHO. The withdrawal was based on the grievances of the United States in how the WHO handled the coronavirus pandemic. WHO’s delayed response in sharing details about the spread of coronavirus was perceived as an effort to protect China.
President 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 United States 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,” President Trump said at the signing of the executive order to withdraw.
The United States has historically been the largest contributor to the global health agency based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The United States’ withdrawal from the organization for the second time in less than five years jeopardizes decades-long progress in fighting diseases like AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Furthermore, the withdrawal action isolates the United States, compromising its pandemic and disease response and diplomatic relations worldwide. “This is the darkest day for global health I’ve ever experienced,”- Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington. Gostin is also director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law.
The collaboration of the United States and WHO has been instrumental in disease response and pharmaceutical developments to rapidly innovate vaccines and treatments worldwide.
Without this partnership, other emerging diseases and pandemic threats could leave the world weaker and more vulnerable.
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