US Withdraws from WHO by Trump's Order

US President Donald Trump has signed an order for the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO). This could result in the organization losing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. RTVI reports, citing Politico.

It is expected that the US will formally exit the WHO within one year of notification. Trump has ordered to “suspend further transfers of US government funds, support, or resources to the WHO,” reminiscent of the first attempt to exit the organization in 2020, the publication notes.

The order also requires the Secretary of State to cease negotiations over agreements regarding the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, which member countries have been engaged in for several years.

According to the KFF analytical center, the WHO receives a quarter of its budget from the US as mandatory membership fees. In recent years, this figure has fluctuated between $163 million and $816 million. Trump's order states that “the WHO continues to demand unjustifiably heavy payments from the US, which are not always proportional to the payments of other countries.”