The World Health Organization (WHO) chief on Tuesday warned that the United States’ decision to withdraw from the UN health agency is dangerous for both the US and the global community.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2025, initiating the country’s exit from the WHO. The one-year withdrawal process is set to reach completion next week.
Speaking from WHO headquarters in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed deep regret over the move.
“Withdrawal from WHO is a loss for the United States, and it’s also a loss for the rest of the world,” he said. “It makes the US unsafe… and makes the rest of the world unsafe, so it’s not really the right decision.”
Tedros highlighted the crucial role of the WHO in safeguarding global health, emphasizing that many initiatives undertaken by the agency directly benefit the United States, particularly in health security.
“That’s why I said the US cannot be safe without working with WHO,” he said. “I hope the US will reconsider its decision and rejoin.”
WHO’s chief legal officer, Steve Solomon, clarified the legal context of the withdrawal. While the WHO Constitution does not explicitly include a withdrawal clause, Washington reserved the right to leave under certain conditions when it joined in 1948. These conditions include providing one year’s notice and meeting financial obligations for the current fiscal year.
However, Solomon noted that the US is currently in arrears for its 2024 and 2025 contributions, leaving member states to determine whether the withdrawal conditions have been fully met.
Amid global cuts to international aid budgets that have strained health systems, Tedros stressed that the US exit is not only a financial concern.
“Funding is very important for our organisation, for WHO to really deliver,” he said. “But when I call for the US to return, it’s not about money. What matters most is solidarity, cooperation, and for the whole world to prepare itself for any eventualities, to a common enemy like a virus, like Covid.”
“The best immunity is solidarity,” he added, underscoring the critical importance of international cooperation in tackling global health threats.
