1/22/2026

 

Samuel Clifford

 

United States Exits World Health Organization

 

A year after Donald Trump’s executive order of a notice that the United States intended to leave the World Health Organization, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the exit has been completed. In a press release dated January 22, 2026, the United States is leaving the WHO, “due to the organization's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

 

The announcement marks a significant turning point in U.S. global health policy, ending a decades‑long relationship with the organization that has traditionally coordinated international responses to disease outbreaks. According to senior officials, the decision reflects a broader reassessment of multilateral institutions and the degree to which they serve American interests.

 

An HHS official emphasized that the United States is “not walking away from global health,” but rather from institutions that, in the administration’s view, have failed to meet necessary standards of transparency, accountability, and responsiveness. The official pointed to a series of bilateral Global Health Cooperation agreements signed with dozens of countries in December 2025 as evidence that the U.S. intends to maintain, and even expand, its international health partnerships outside the WHO framework. Additional updates on these agreements are expected later this year.

 

The move follows months of criticism from U.S. leadership regarding the WHO’s handling of the early stages of the COVID‑19 pandemic. In a prerecorded address to the World Health Assembly in May 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argued that the organization had become “mired in bureaucratic bloat, entrenched paradigms, conflicts of interest, and international power politics.” HHS officials have also highlighted longstanding concerns about the disproportionate financial burden placed on the United States, noting that the country has historically contributed far more than many other member states while never having held the position of director‑general.

 

Despite the withdrawal, HHS maintains that the United States will continue to play a leading role in global public health. The department currently deploys more than 2,000 personnel across 63 countries and maintains hundreds of bilateral health agreements. Officials say plans are already in place to coordinate with alternative organizations on disease surveillance, diagnostics, and outbreak response to ensure continuity in international health cooperation.

Sources

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. United States Completes WHO Withdrawal. 2020, https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/united-states-completes-who-withdrawal.html

 

Salzman, Olivia Rubin, Soo Rin Kim, and Arielle Mitropoulos.

“U.S. Officially Exits World Health Organization, Accusing Agency of Failing America.” ABC News, 22 Jan. 2026, https://abcnews.go.com/Health/us-officially-exits-world-health-organization-accusing-agency/story?id=129455089..