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The United States has formally completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO), ending nearly 78 years of membership. The departure took effect on January 22, 2026, after the required one-year notice period.
In a joint statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the U.S. had withdrawn from the WHO and would limit engagement to the withdrawal process and safeguarding American health and safety.
They cited the WHO’s failures during the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing the agency of pursuing a politicised and bureaucratic agenda, obstructing timely information sharing, and acting against U.S. interests under the influence of nations hostile to the U.S. All U.S. funding for and staffing of WHO initiatives have ceased, and U.S. personnel have been recalled. The country is now focusing on direct bilateral partnerships and independent global health approaches.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed regret, calling the withdrawal a lose-lose situation and saying it was not the right decision.
The WHO was established on April 7, 1948, with the U.S. as a founding member (the U.S. signed the constitution in 1946 and ratified it in 1948).
President Donald Trump had long criticised the WHO, accusing it of mishandling the early pandemic response, being too close to China, spreading inaccurate information, and politicising the crisis by labelling U.S. travel bans from China as racist.
Trump argued that the U.S. bore an unfair financial burden, paying more than other countries without receiving proportional benefits. He carried these criticisms into his second term, which culminated in the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO in 2025, ending nearly eight decades of membership and funding.
