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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the United States of America’s decision to withdraw from the agency “makes both the United States and the world less safe.”
WHO, in a statement on Saturday, acknowledged several significant contributions of the US to the organisation since its founding.
“As a founding member of the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States of America has contributed significantly to many of WHO’s greatest achievements, including the eradication of smallpox, and progress against many other public health threats, including polio, HIV, Ebola, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, antimicrobial resistance, food safety and more,” WHO said.”WHO therefore regrets the United States’ notification of withdrawal from WHO – a decision that makes both the United States and the world less safe.”
WHO said the withdrawal notification raises governance issues that will be reviewed by its Executive Board at a meeting beginning on February 2 and later by the World Health Assembly at its annual meeting in May 2026.
The US’s withdrawal was announced on Thursday in a joint statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The two US officials said the WHO had “trashed and tarnished” the United States and had compromised its independence.
But WHO rejected those claims, saying, “The reverse is true,” adding that it has “always sought to engage with the United States in good faith, with full respect for its sovereignty.”
US officials accused WHO of multiple “failures during the COVID-19 pandemic” and of acting “repeatedly against the interests of the United States.”
WHO responded, saying, “While no organisation or government got everything right, WHO stands by its response to this unprecedented global health crisis.”
Despite the US withdrawal notice, the WHO said its member states continue to work through the organisation to address global health threats.
“We hope that in the future, the United States will return to active participation in WHO,” it stated, adding that the organisation remains committed to advancing “the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right for all people.”
