Among the first acts of the 47th president Donald Trump there is the withdraw of the United States fromWHO (World Health Organization). A decision that has global repercussions, since the USA has always been the main economic supporter of the international body.
Trump accuses WHO of bad management of the pandemic from COVID-19 and lack of independence from the political influences of member states such as the China.
The Wuhan controversy
In this regard, remember the timidity with which the WHO faced the hypothesis of the birth of the virus Wuhan. With timing that does not go unnoticed, the CIA recently supported the probable explosion of Covid in Wuhan itself, due to a laboratory accident.
Some criticisms of the WHO have been recognized as well-founded by the international community, such as a certain slow decision-making and bureaucratic inefficiencies. But the international community itself has mostly welcomed the US choice with bitterness.
The case of hydroxychloroquine
But at the same time we remember the Trump-WHO controversy over thehydroxychloroquinean antimalarial drug that the US president said would protect against Covid (“What have you got to lose? Take it”). A study French-Canadian study carried out by the universities of Lyon and Quebec has led to the suspicion that in six countries (France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United States) 17,000 deaths only for the incorrect use of hydroxychloroquine.
US payments to WHO
The USA paid approx 1.3 billion of dollars to the WHO in 2022-23, or 16.3% of all funds which in the period considered amounted to 7.89 billion dollars. Trump considered such amounts disproportionate, also in light of the fact that China has membership dues for the years 2024 and 2025 amounting to $88 million. The WHO said Washington still owes about $130 million for 2024, as well as another $130 million owed to date for 2025.
The consequences on the world
The consequences of the US leaving the WHO are of various kinds and all of cyclopean proportions. First of all, the US will lose access to databases WHO global vaccines, essential for monitoring infectious diseases and developing effective vaccines, such as those against seasonal influenza. But the WHO will also lose access to US databases. A significant loss, since it concerns the richest country in the West, which every year produces significant data and a quantity of scientific research.
Secondly, the WHO emerges weakened by Trump’s choice, risking not having access to it funds necessary to maintain vital programs such as vaccinations and interventions against emerging diseases.
The US withdrawal leaves room for powers such as China And Russia to strengthen their role in global health diplomacy.
Without WHO coordination, the risks of epidemics global threats that could spread to the United States.
US researchers assigned to the WHO will lose a key platform for collaborating on global health issues.
As a first response, the WHO initiated a drastic reduction from the expenses with the freezing of hiringexcept for key roles, and with the limitation of trips and the mandatory adoption of virtual meetings.
“We must prioritize low-resource activities,” said Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.