The United States has completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO), drawing a definitive line under a long-running dispute over the global health body’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and what Washington describes as its resistance to structural reform.
The White House confirmed on Thursday that the exit process, initiated by President Donald Trump in January 2025, has now been fully effected. The decision, according to U.S. authorities, rests on deep-seated concerns about the WHO’s pandemic response, governance standards and perceived political vulnerability.
In a coordinated statement, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and State said the organisation failed at critical moments during the early spread of COVID-19, particularly in delaying the declaration of a global health emergency. That hesitation, the statement argued, cost the international community valuable time as the virus crossed borders unchecked.
Washington also accused the WHO leadership of aligning too closely with China’s official position at the onset of the outbreak, despite what it described as evidence of delayed disclosures and constraints on information-sharing, including around human-to-human transmission.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would maintain only minimal contact with the WHO, strictly to conclude technical aspects of the withdrawal. Over the past year, the U.S. has halted funding, pulled out its personnel and redirected public health engagements to bilateral and multilateral arrangements outside the WHO framework.
The White House further criticised the organisation for what it called an incomplete reckoning after the pandemic, pointing to unresolved questions surrounding the origins of COVID-19 and the lack of access to early genetic data and laboratory records in Wuhan, China. It also faulted the WHO for initially downplaying asymptomatic transmission and the risks of airborne spread.
For its part, the WHO has acknowledged that it cannot legally block the U.S. exit. The organisation disclosed that Washington has not paid its assessed contributions for 2024 and 2025, estimated at about $260 million, and said the matter would be discussed at its executive board meeting in February.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed regret over the development, warning that the decision carries consequences beyond finances. He described the withdrawal as a setback for global cooperation, urging the United States to reconsider in the interest of collective health security.
Despite the break, the White House insisted that America’s global health footprint would remain intact. It said the U.S. would pursue leadership through direct partnerships with countries, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and faith-based groups, with a focus on emergency preparedness, biosecurity coordination and health innovation.
As the world continues to grapple with transnational health threats, Washington’s exit from the WHO marks a strategic shift—one that underscores enduring tensions between multilateral institutions and national policy priorities in a post-pandemic era.
