Washington, D.C. – January 22, 2026 – The United States has formally exited the World Health Organization (WHO), marking the end of its membership in the United Nations’ specialized health agency after more than seven decades.
The withdrawal took effect today, exactly one year after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2025 – his first day in office during his second term – directing the U.S. to leave the Geneva-based organization. The move fulfills a long-standing priority for the administration, which cited the WHO’s alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, failure to implement necessary reforms, susceptibility to political influence from other member states, and disproportionate financial demands on the United States.
Under U.S. law, withdrawal from the WHO requires one year’s notice, a condition established when Congress authorized U.S. participation in the organization in 1948. The Trump administration provided formal notification in early 2025, setting today’s date as the effective date of departure.
The United States, historically the WHO’s largest donor and contributing approximately 18% of its budget, has not paid outstanding assessed contributions totaling roughly $260-278 million for 2024 and 2025. A State Department spokesperson defended the decision, stating that American taxpayers have already borne excessive costs due to the organization’s performance during global health crises, describing the unpaid amount as “beyond a down payment” on any obligations. The administration has paused all future funding, support, or resources to the WHO.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed regret over the decision in recent statements, urging the U.S. to reconsider. “Withdrawing from the WHO is a loss for the United States, and it’s a loss for the rest of the world,” he said earlier this month, emphasizing the importance of global cooperation in detecting and responding to health threats.
Public health experts and critics have warned that the exit could weaken international surveillance of emerging diseases, disrupt collaborative efforts on pandemics, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and other programs, and create budgetary challenges for the WHO, which has already begun scaling back operations, cutting staff positions, and reprioritizing work. Some observers describe the move as risking a “health information silo” for the U.S. and undermining global preparedness.
The withdrawal is part of a broader Trump administration effort to review and exit international organizations deemed contrary to U.S. interests. In early January 2026, the president directed withdrawals from dozens of other entities through related executive actions.
The WHO has indicated that member states will discuss the implications of the U.S. departure, including handling of unpaid dues, at its executive board meeting in February. While the organization’s constitution lacks a general withdrawal provision, the U.S. reserved this right upon joining, making it the only country with a formalized exit mechanism.
This development revives a policy Trump pursued during his first term, when he initiated withdrawal proceedings in 2020 over similar concerns, only for the process to be reversed by the Biden administration in 2021.
As the U.S. shifts focus to domestic health priorities and alternative international partnerships, the long-term impact on global health coordination remains a subject of intense debate among experts and policymakers.