The United States has officially completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), according to a joint announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of State. The decision follows criticism over WHO's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about political influence among member states, and dissatisfaction with the organization's response to calls for reform.
President Trump announced plans for the U.S. exit on January 20, 2025. Over the past year, this process included halting funding to WHO, removing all U.S. personnel from its offices, and shifting activities previously conducted through WHO toward direct partnerships with other nations and organizations. Moving forward, any coordination between the U.S. and WHO will be limited to matters related to completing the withdrawal.
Officials cited several reasons for leaving WHO, including delays in declaring a global public health emergency during early COVID-19 outbreaks and praising China's response despite reports of underreporting and delayed confirmation of human-to-human transmission. The organization was also criticized for downplaying asymptomatic transmission risks and not promptly acknowledging airborne spread.
After the pandemic’s initial phase, officials said that "the WHO did not adopt meaningful reforms to address political influence, governance weaknesses or poor coordination," which they believe allowed politics to take precedence over rapid public health action.
Additionally, there were concerns regarding transparency around COVID-19 origins investigations: "Its report evaluating the possible origins of COVID-19 rejected the possibility that scientists created the virus, even though China refused to provide genetic sequences from individuals infected early in the pandemic and information on the Wuhan laboratories' activities and biosafety conditions."
According to federal officials: "The U.S. is the world's leading force in protecting public health, saving lives and responding rapidly to infectious disease outbreaks. Going forward, the U.S. government will continue its global health leadership through existing and new engagements directly with other countries, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and faith-based entities. U.S.-led efforts will prioritize emergency response, biosecurity coordination and health innovation to protect America first while delivering benefits to partners around the world."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues its role in protecting public health both domestically and internationally by providing timely information as well as responding quickly to disease threats across communities nationwide.
