WHO Chief Asks Countries to Push Washington to Reconsider its Withdrawal

The World Health Organization chief asked global leaders to lean on Washington to reverse President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the U.N. health agency, insisting in a closed-door meeting with diplomats last week that the U.S. will miss out on critical information about global disease outbreaks.

For 2024-2025, the U.S. is WHO’s biggest donor by far, putting in an estimated $988 million, roughly 14% of WHO’s $6.9 billion budget.

A budget document presented at the meeting showed WHO’s health emergencies program has a “heavy reliance” on American cash. “Readiness functions” in WHO’s Europe office were more than 80% reliant on the $154 million the U.S. contributes.