United States withdraws from WHO

On Friday, May 29, President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). This news comes after a month and a half of temporary freezing of the funds with which the United States contributes to this institution that is part of the highest body of the United Nations.

What are the reasons for this decision?

The President of the United States has expressed for some months his disagreement and disagreement with the way in which the World Health Organization has dealt with the global health crisis regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. So much so, that a month and a half ago the United States had temporarily frozen the funds with which the world power contributed to this institution that is part of the United Nations.

Another reason that President Donald Trump expressed, which is not completely different from the first, has to do with the bias that the North American President says the World Health Organization has in favor of China. On multiple occasions, Donald Trump has blamed the eastern country for originating and also allowing the global spread of COVID-19.

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How does the United Nations receive this news?

To begin with, this news supposes the total freezing of the financial contribution of the United States to the WHO budget, which represents around 400 and 500 million dollars a year, according to the newspaper El Universal. This is, more or less, 15% of the total budget of the WHO, the main organism globally in charge of studying and controlling the pandemic and the global health emergency. However, the White House statement exposed these reasons but did not clarify when and how the withdrawal of the North American nation from the WHO, to which it belongs since 1948, the year in which it was created, will become official.

In response to the announcement by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations have expressed their concern about what this decision may represent for world health. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, invited President Donald Trump to reconsider his decision since for the European Union it is essential that the WHO be the body capable of responding to global pandemics and health emergencies and for this the contribution from as many nations as possible. Thus, the withdrawal of the United States from the WHO will be a great loss in budgetary terms and, therefore, in terms of the effectiveness of the measures that this organization takes or plans to take in the face of the world crisis.