US formally notifies UN on WHO withdrawal by July 2021

The Trump administration has said that the WHO ignored early signs of human-to-human transmission in China, including warnings from Taiwan, which, due to Beijing's pressure, is not part of the UN body.

US President Donald Trump sits with his arms crossed during a roundtable discussion in Washington, United States on July 7, 2020.
AFP

US President Donald Trump sits with his arms crossed during a roundtable discussion in Washington, United States on July 7, 2020.

The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, although the pullout won’t take effect until next year, meaning it could be rescinded under a new administration or if circumstances change.

The withdrawal notification, delivered on Monday, makes good on President Donald Trump’s vow in late May to terminate US participation in the WHO, which he has harshly criticised for its response to the coronavirus pandemic and accused of bowing to Chinese influence. 

The move was immediately assailed by health officials and critics of the administration.

The withdrawal notice was sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday and will take effect in a year, on July 6, 2021, the State Department and the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Guterres, in his capacity as depositary of the 1946 WHO constitution, "is in the process of verifying with the World Health Organization whether all the conditions for such withdrawal are met,” his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said.

In a speech earlier in the day, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said of Covid-19, "National unity and global solidarity are more important than ever to defeat a common enemy."

READ MORE: 'It's not over' WHO warns as several countries see uptick in Covid-19 cases

Under the terms of the withdrawal, the US must meet its financial obligations to the WHO before it can be finalised. The US, which is the agency's largest donor and provides it with more than $400 million per year, currently owes the WHO some $200 million in current and past dues.

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Inadequate response to Covid-19

In late May, less than two weeks after warning the WHO that it had 30 days to reform or lose US support, Trump announced his administration was leaving the organization due to what he said was its inadequate response to the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in China’s Wuhan province late last year.

Trump said that China exerted "total control" over the WHO and accused the UN body led by Tedros, an Ethiopian doctor and diplomat, of failing to implement reforms.

The president also said that Chinese officials “ignored” their reporting obligations to the WHO and pressured the organization to mislead the public about an outbreak that has now killed more than 130,000 Americans.

“We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engaged with them directly, but they have refused to act,” Trump said at the time. "Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating the relationship.”

Blaming China for the coronavirus, Trump, a frequent critic of the UN, said the United States would redirect funding "to other worldwide and deserving, urgent, global public health needs."

Withdrawal amid greatest crisis

The withdrawal notification was widely denounced as misguided, certain to undermine an important institution that is leading vaccine development efforts and drug trials to address the Covid-19 outbreak.

“The administration’s move to formally withdraw from WHO amid the greatest public health crisis that Americans and the world have faced in a century is short-sighted, unnecessary, and unequivocally dangerous," said UN Foundation President Elizabeth Cousens. 

“WHO is the only body capable of leading and coordinating the global response to Covid-19. Terminating the US relationship would undermine the global effort to beat this virus, putting all of us at risk.”

The ONE Campaign, which supports international health projects, called it an “astounding action” that jeopardizes global health.

“Withdrawing from the World Health Organization amidst an unprecedented global pandemic is an astounding action that puts the safety of all Americans and the world at risk. 

The US should use its influence to strengthen and reform the WHO, not abandon it at a time when the world needs it most," ONE president Gayle Smith said.

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