The end! America is leaving the WHO

Trump said the WHO has failed to be an independent organization from "undue political influence by member countries" and demands for "unfairly heavy payments" from the US, which are disproportionate to the amounts provided by other, larger countries, such as China.

"The WHO stole from us, everybody is stealing from the United States. It's not going to happen again," Trump said as he signed the executive order to withdraw, shortly after his inauguration for a second term.

The move means the US will leave the United Nations health agency in 12 months and end all financial contributions to the WHO's work.

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As Index reports, the USA is by far the largest financial sponsor of the WHO, with around 18 percent of the total funding.

The last biennial budget of the WHO, for the period 2024-2025, was 6.8 billion dollars.

Therefore, it goes on to say, the departure of the US is likely to jeopardize programs throughout the organization.

According to some experts inside and outside the WHO, those WHO programs that fight tuberculosis, the "killer" among infectious diseases worldwide, will be especially threatened, as well as HIV/AIDS programs.

Trump's order says the administration will suspend negotiations on the WHO's pandemic agreement while the withdrawal is underway.

US staff working with the WHO will be recalled and relocated, and the government will seek partners to take over the WHO's necessary activities, the order said.

By the way, Trump's withdrawal from the WHO is not unexpected. He had already taken steps to leave the organization in 2020, during his first term as president, accusing the WHO at the time of aiding China's efforts to "deceive the world" about its origins.

Then, in the period 2020-2021, Trump also suspended US contributions to the agency, costing it nearly $200 million, as it grappled with the world's worst health crisis.

Under US law, leaving the WHO requires a one-year notice period and payment of all outstanding obligations.

Before the US withdrawal could be completed for the final time, Joe Biden won the country's presidential election and shut it down on his first day in office on January 20, 2021.