The United States flag was removed from the World Health Organisation’s Geneva headquarters on Thursday, marking the country’s official exit from the UN health agency after a year of warnings from global health experts.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office in 2025, giving notice that America would quit the organisation, citing the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the decision.
The departure has triggered a financial crisis at the WHO, forcing the agency to cut its management team in half and prepare to shed around a quarter of its staff by mid-year.
Washington had traditionally been the organisation’s largest financial backer, contributing roughly 18 per cent of its overall funding.
Dispute over unpaid fees
Under US law, the country was required to give one-year notice and pay all outstanding fees—approximately $260 million—before withdrawing.
However, a State Department official disputed that any payment was necessary.
“The American people have paid more than enough,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email on Thursday.
The Department of Health and Human Services said the government had ended all funding contributions to the agency.
A spokesperson claimed Trump exercised his authority to halt transfers because the organisation had cost the US trillions of dollars.
The WHO said America has not yet paid the fees it owes for 2024 and 2025. Member states are scheduled to discuss the departure and how it will be handled at the WHO’s executive board meeting in February.
According to a joint press release from the US Health and State Departments, America will only work with the WHO in a limited capacity to complete the withdrawal process.
“We have no plans to participate as an observer, and we have no plans of rejoining,” a senior government health official said. The US plans to work directly with other countries on disease surveillance and public health priorities rather than through international organisations.
In recent weeks, America has moved to exit several other United Nations organisations, raising concerns that Trump’s recently launched Board of Peace initiative could undermine the UN as a whole.
The BusinessDay reports that some WHO critics have proposed setting up a new agency to replace the organisation, though a proposal reviewed by the Trump administration last year instead suggested pushing for reforms and American leadership within the existing structure.
Bill Gates, whose foundation is a major funder of global health initiatives and some WHO programmes, told Reuters at Davos that he did not expect the US to reconsider in the short term. However, he said he would continue advocating for America to rejoin.
“The world needs the World Health Organisation,” Mr Gates said.
