The United States has officially withdrawn from the World Health Organisation (WHO), citing alleged failures in the global health body’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its inability to implement critical reforms.
The White House announced the decision on Thursday, stating that the move followed what it described as years of concerns over the WHO’s transparency, independence and response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a joint statement, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State said the decision was driven by WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China.”
The statement also accused the organisation of failing to adopt urgently needed reforms and lacking independence from political influence by member states.
It read, “The organisation’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states informed this decision.”
According to the White House, the withdrawal process formally began on January 20, 2025, when President Donald Trump announced plans for the United States to leave the global health body.
Over the course of the year, the US gradually halted funding to the WHO, withdrew its personnel and redirected programmes previously coordinated through the organisation to direct partnerships with other countries and institutions.
Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the US would maintain only limited engagement with WHO to finalise the withdrawal.
They noted that the United States would “be coordinating with WHO solely in a limited fashion to effectuate withdrawal.”
WHO Faulted Over Early COVID-19 Response
The White House further criticised the WHO for delaying the declaration of a global public health emergency and a pandemic during the early stages of COVID-19, saying the delay cost the world valuable time.
According to the statement, “WHO’s delay in declaring a public health emergency and pandemic cost the world critical weeks as the virus spread.”
It also accused the organisation’s leadership of echoing and praising China’s response to the outbreak, despite evidence of early underreporting, suppression of information and delays in confirming human-to-human transmission.
The statement added that the WHO downplayed the risks of asymptomatic transmission and failed to promptly acknowledge the airborne spread of the virus.
The US also faulted WHO for its post-pandemic reforms, particularly its report on the possible origins of COVID-19.
The White House said the report dismissed the possibility that the virus was created in a laboratory, despite China’s refusal to release genetic data from early cases or provide details on activities and biosafety conditions at laboratories in Wuhan.
“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,” the statement said.
WHO Reacts, Expresses Regret
Reacting to the development, the WHO disclosed that the United States had not paid its membership fees for 2024 and 2025, amounting to about $260 million.
The organisation said discussions on the US exit would be held at its executive board meeting in February, but admitted it had no mechanism to prevent the withdrawal.
WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, expressed regret over the decision, urging the US to reconsider.
He said, “I hope that the US will reconsider its decision and rejoin WHO. Withdrawal is a loss for the US and also a loss for the rest of the world… It was not about money but about cooperation and solidarity.”
Despite exiting WHO, the White House said the United States would continue to play a leading role in global health through direct engagement with other countries, non-governmental organisations, private sector partners and faith-based groups.
It said the focus would remain on emergency response, biosecurity coordination and health innovation, both domestically and internationally.