President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization leaves the WHO facing a major blow to its budget.
Trump’s move would deprive the UN health agency of a critical partner in tackling public health threats worldwide.
Trump attempted to quit the WHO during his first term but that move was reversed under former president Joe Biden before it could take effect.
Withdrawal from the WHO comes into force one year from notification being formally deposited with the UN.
Trump has meanwhile nominated vaccine sceptic and scathing WHO critic Robert F. Kennedy as his health secretary.
The WHO on Tuesday said it regretted the withdrawal decision and hoped Washington would reconsider.
– US plays major role in WHO –
The United States “plays a crucial role in supporting WHO to protect and improve the health of Americans and people around the world,” the WHO says on its website.
The WHO highlighted Washington’s work in tackling polio and Ebola, and last year the outbreaks of mpox in the DR Congo and Marburg in Rwanda.
“The USA-WHO collaboration also plays a pivotal role in combating global HIV,” it said.
Trump’s executive order says Washington will swiftly pause any future money transfers to the WHO and recall US government staff or contractors working with the organisation.
The United States would join Liechtenstein as the only UN member state not in the WHO.
– WHO budget –
The WHO receives money from its 194 member states, plus non-governmental organisations and other donors.
Founded in 1948, the agency initially received all its funding through “assessed contributions”: nations’ membership fees calculated according to wealth and population.
However, the WHO became increasingly reliant on “voluntary contributions”, which only contribute to outcomes specified by the donor.
In the last complete budget cycle, for 2022-23, membership dues accounted for only 12 percent of the WHO’s funding.
The Covid-19 pandemic hammered home the need for more predictable and flexible funding, to better tackle emerging health shocks.
Member states therefore agreed to pivot away from pre-earmarked contributions and increase membership fees to cover 50 percent of the organisation’s budget by 2030.
The WHO announced last November that it had raised nearly $4 billion through a new financing mechanism, after attracting dozens of new donors.
– US the top donor –
The WHO’s budget for the completed 2022 and 2023 cycle stood at $7.89 billion.
In that cycle, the United States was by far the WHO’s biggest donor, contributing $1.3 billion, or 16.3 percent of the total.
The next biggest contributors were Germany ($856 million), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($830 million), the Gavi vaccine alliance ($481 million) and the European Commission ($468 million).
China, in 11th place, contributed $157 million.
On Monday, Trump said the WHO had “ripped us off”, noting how Washington was paying far more than Beijing.
– Smart tactic? –
Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, told AFP prior to the US announcement that it would be tactically smarter for Washington to hold off.
If they want “leverage over WHO… it would make sense to at least see what they can get, and then use the withdrawal as a negotiating tool”, she said.
Moon voiced certainty that WHO would survive a US withdrawal.
“Most organisations would survive a 15 percent budget cut, but it would be painful,” she said.
– Pandemic agreement –
Rattled by Covid, WHO member states decided in December 2021 to start drafting an accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
But deadlines have been repeatedly missed, meaning negotiations were not completed before Trump’s return.
Monday’s executive order says Washington will stop negotiating during its withdrawal, and the agreement will have “no binding force” on the United States.
Moon warned that the US pullout from the talks could give other wary countries “an easy out”.
