US exit gives WHO chance to reform

Donald Trump's plan to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) has been met with dismay in the public health field.

- C RAINA MACINTYRE

Some have called one of the US president's first executive orders "a grave error" and "absolutely bad news".

The WHO is a United Nations agency that aims to expand universal health coverage, coordinates responses to health emergencies such as pandemics, and has a broad focus on healthy lives. It does not have the power to enforce health policy, but influences policy worldwide, especially in low-income countries.

The WHO plays an essential coordinating role in surveillance, response and policy for infectious and non-infectious diseases. In fact, infectious diseases have the most pressing need for global coordination. Unlike non-communicable diseases, infections can spread rapidly from one country to another, just as Covid spread to cause a pandemic.

We have much to thank the WHO for, including the eradication of smallpox, a feat which could not have been achieved without global coordination and leadership. It has also played a leading role in control of polio and HIV.

Why does the US want to withdraw? The reasons for withdrawing include "mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states."

The executive order also cites the disproportionately higher payments the US makes to the WHO compared to China. In 2024-25, the US contributed 22 per cent of the organisation's mandatory funding from member states compared to about 15 per cent for China.

President Trump initiated withdrawal from the WHO over similar concerns in 2020. But this was reversed by President Biden in 2021.