On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organisation.
Historically, the U.S. has been the largest contributor to the global health agency based in Geneva, Switzerland. However, Trump has accused the organisation of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, towards the end of his first term, Trump initiated the withdrawal process from the WHO, but the subsequent Biden administration chose not to pursue it further.
Trump’s recent order to exit the WHO has already faced significant criticism.
In a statement, the Access to Medicines Director for Public Citizen remarked that this action harms not only Americans but also people worldwide.
“In withdrawing from the WHO, Trump is harming not just the rest of the world but every American. Pulling out of the organization best able to mobilize countries to do their part fighting deadly viruses that kill Americans and don’t care about borders is not putting America first. It’s putting Americans at risk.
“As terrible as COVID was, it could have been much worse. U.S. cooperation with WHO and its partners to identify threats and deploy countermeasures saved millions of lives, including American lives. Many more American lives could have been saved through faster action to fight COVID variants everywhere.
“Global health cooperation will only become more important in the years to come, as new diseases arise and spread thanks to the impact of worsening climate change.
“This still is one world, like it or not, and viruses don’t discriminate,” the statement says.
