The team of US President-elect Donald Trump insists on the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization and seeks to do so on the first day of the new administration. This was reported by The Financial Times (FT) , UNN .
Details
Members of Trump's team have told experts of their intention to announce their withdrawal from the global health agency during the president-elect's inauguration on January 20. The withdrawal would deprive the WHO of its largest source of funding, undermining its ability to respond to public health crises such as the coronavirus pandemic, FT writes .
“America will leave a huge vacuum in global health funding and leadership. I don't see anyone who can fill that hole,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health at Georgetown Law School, adding that a ‘day one’ withdrawal plan would be ‘catastrophic’ for global health.
The United States is the largest donor to WHO, providing about 16 percent of its funding in 2022-23.
In 2020, Trump initiated the process of withdrawing from the WHO due to the spread of Covid-19, accusing the agency of being under Chinese control. But the process was never finalized, and his successor, Joe Biden, restored relations with the agency on his first day in office in 2021.
Experts say that some members of the Trump team want to act much faster this time, starting the process immediately.
The WHO has not yet commented on the information. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organization's director general, said this month that it is a “unique organization” that hopes to partner with U.S. policymakers. “From our side, we are ready to cooperate,” he said. “I believe that American leaders understand that the United States cannot be safe unless the rest of the world is safe.”
Recall
Donald Trump has picked leading Covid quarantine skeptic Jay Bhattacharya to be the next director of a key US health agency.
Trump also announced that he wants former rival Robert Kennedy Jr. to head the US Department of Health.