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US officially leaves World Health Organisation
The United States has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organisation, suspending all funding as officials cite COVID-19 failures
The United States government has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organisation, announcing the suspension of all funding and the withdrawal of American personnel from the world’s largest global health body.
In a joint statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said that “today, the United States withdrew from the World Health Organisation (WHO), freeing itself from its constraints.”
Washington said the decision followed what it described as failures by WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic and was intended to address the damage those failures inflicted on the American people.
According to the statement, WHO had abandoned its core mission and repeatedly acted against US interests, despite the United States being a founding member and the organisation’s largest financial contributor.
It added that WHO had adopted a bureaucratic political agenda driven by countries hostile to US interests and had obstructed the timely and accurate sharing of vital information that could have saved American lives.
US quits WHO
The statement further said that WHO later concealed those failures under the pretext of acting in the interest of public health.
Rubio and Kennedy stressed that future US engagement with WHO would be limited to implementing the withdrawal and safeguarding the health and safety of the American people.
They confirmed that US funding for all WHO initiatives has fully stopped, along with the provision of American personnel to the organisation.
The two officials said the United States will continue to exercise global leadership in public health through direct, bilateral, results-based partnerships aimed at saving lives and protecting Americans from infectious disease threats.
They also reaffirmed continued cooperation with what they described as trusted countries and health institutions to enhance preparedness and protect communities through a more focused, transparent and effective model.
The move follows earlier decisions by Donald Trump, who had previously withdrawn the United States from dozens of international organisations, including several United Nations bodies, accusing them of hostility to US interests or the wasteful use of American funds.
