The US has officially severed ties with the World Health Organisation (WHO), drawing the curtains on the about 78-year-old commitment to the health agency.

Their withdrawal follows Executive Order 14155, which formally initiated the process and was signed by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, just a few days after he assumed office.

On several occasions, he had announced his intention to break away from WHO, citing its close links with China, as part of a broader policy of withdrawing from international organisations that, he argued, did not serve U.S. interests.

As part of the rules governing the withdrawal from the health agency, a member is mandated to serve a year's notice of intent to withdraw and last year, the White House began the process, which has officially been finalised.

White House announced its withdrawal in a joint statement shared by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., published Thursday.

“Today, the United States withdrew from the World Health Organisation (WHO), freeing itself from its constraints,” parts of the statement noted.

According to the statement, the US president cited the organisation’s alleged “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic” and “other global health crises” among reasons to quit the body.

“This action responds to the WHO’s failures during the COVID‑19 pandemic and seeks to rectify the harm from those failures inflicted on the American people,” the statement added. It also said that US membership in the organisation required “unfairly onerous payments.”

US leaving, but allegedly owes WHO

Despite the USA’s withdrawal, the WHO claims that Washington owes more than $130 million to the global health agency, but there is uncertainty and disagreement over it.

Trump administration officials acknowledge that they haven’t finished working out some issues, such as lost access to data from other countries that could give America an early warning of a potential pandemic in the near future.

Also, a WHO spokesperson has said that an engagement will be held concerning the US departure and other concerns addressed on how the health agency will operate without the global financier’s exit at the WHO’s executive board in February.

Following Trump’s announcement of his intention to exit the WHO, many health experts and other stakeholders urged him to reconsider, including most recently the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Experts worry about weakened global health security

The greatest among the concerns raised by stakeholders regarding US exit is the financialimpact it stands to have on the agency and that of US’ ability to deal with disease outbreak and potential global health crisis.

The US has historically been the largest funder of the organisation. The specialised health agency is mandated to coordinate preparedness when it comes to disease outbreaks like mpox, Ebola and polio.

It also provides technical assistance to poorer countries, helps distribute scarce vaccines, and sets guidelines for hundreds of health conditions, including mental health and cancer.

“I hope the US will reconsider and rejoin WHO,” Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing earlier this month. “Withdrawing from the WHO is a loss for the United States, and it’s a ‌loss for the ⁠rest of the world.”