America announces its “official” withdrawal from the World Health Organization

The United States announced its official withdrawal from the World Health Organization, despite year-long warnings that the move would harm the health sector in the United States and globally.

The administration of President Donald Trump said that its decision comes as a result of the failure of the United Nations organization to manage the situation during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Reuters.

President Donald Trump announced, via executive order, that the United States will withdraw from the World Health Organization on the first day of his presidency in 2025.

According to a press release issued by the US Departments of Health and State, the United States’ engagement with the World Health Organization will be limited in order to actually implement the withdrawal.

“We have no plans to participate as an observer, and we have no intention of joining again,” a senior government health official said.

The United States stated that it intends to work directly with other countries, rather than through an international organization, for disease surveillance and other public health priorities.

Under US law, Washington is supposed to issue a year’s notice of withdrawal and pay all outstanding fees, amounting to about $260 million, before leaving.

However, an official in the US State Department denied that the law includes a condition requiring any amount to be paid before withdrawal.

Eyewitnesses said that the American flag was removed in front of the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva on Thursday.

Over the past weeks, the United States has taken steps to withdraw from a number of other United Nations organizations, and some fear that the peace council that Trump recently established will undermine the United Nations as a whole.