The United States has officially exited the World Health Organization (WHO), exactly one year after Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawal.
Trump had on his first day in office pledged to pull out of the global health organization over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The withdrawal was announced on Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of State.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a joint statement said the US has terminated it membership in the WHO.
A senior HHS official said on Thursday that the WHO “strayed from its core mission and has acted contrary to the US interests in protecting the U.S. public on multiple occasions.”
The HHS also argued that other countries, such as China, have been contributing less monetarily than the US and that there has never been an American director-general of the WHO despite the amount of money the U.S. has contributed.
The WHO was established on 7 April 1948, and formally began its work on 1 September 1948, with the mandate to promote health and safety, provides technical assistance to countries and sets international health standards.
