The World Health Organization has officially expressed profound regret following the formal notification by the United States of its intention to withdraw from the international body. As a founding member of the organization, the United States has historically contributed significantly to many of the WHO’s most monumental achievements in global public health. These collaborative milestones include the historic eradication of smallpox, alongside substantial, measurable progress against a wide array of persistent public health threats such as polio, HIV, Ebola, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases. Furthermore, U.S. partnership has been instrumental in addressing global challenges relating to antimicrobial resistance and food safety over the decades.
The formal notification of withdrawal, however, raises critical procedural and substantive issues that will now be formally considered by the WHO Executive Board at its upcoming regular meeting, scheduled to begin on February 2. Following that review, the matter will be addressed comprehensively by the World Health Assembly during its annual meeting in May 2026. In the interim, the organization has underscored that this momentous decision serves to make both the United States and the broader global community measurably less safe in an increasingly interconnected world vulnerable to cross-border health threats.
Addressing the specific grievances raised by Washington, WHO leadership took careful note of recent statements from the United States government asserting that the international agency had "trashed and tarnished" and insulted the country, while simultaneously compromising its institutional independence. In response, the WHO maintained that the exact reverse is true. Emphasizing its standard operational protocol, the organization affirmed that, much like its approach with every other sovereign Member State, the WHO has consistently sought to engage with the United States in good faith, maintaining complete and unwavering respect for its national sovereignty.
Among the primary justifications cited by the United States for its decision to exit the organization were what Washington characterized as severe "WHO failures during the COVID-19 pandemic." Specifically, the U.S. statements alleged that the agency was responsible for "obstructing the timely and accurate sharing of critical information" and that the WHO actively "concealed those failures." While acknowledging that no single organization, agency, or national government managed to navigate every aspect of the unprecedented crisis flawlessly, the WHO firmly stands by its comprehensive response to the worst global health emergency in a century.
Throughout the duration of the pandemic, leadership contends, the WHO acted with urgency, sharing all available information rapidly and transparently with the international community. Guidance provided to Member States was strictly formulated on the basis of the best available scientific evidence at any given time. The organization recalls that while it recommended proven public health measures such as the use of masks, vaccines, and physical distancing, it never at any stage recommended universal mask mandates, vaccine mandates, or sweeping societal lockdowns. Instead, the agency maintained that its role was to support sovereign governments so they could make the specific policy decisions they believed were in the best and safest interests of their own populations, leaving the ultimate execution of those choices entirely in the hands of national authorities.
Recounting the timeline of the initial outbreak, the WHO noted that immediately after receiving the first preliminary reports regarding a cluster of cases involving "pneumonia of unknown cause" in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019, the organization formally requested further information from Chinese authorities and simultaneously activated its internal emergency incident management system. By the time the first official death was reported from China on January 11, 2020, the WHO had already mobilized global awareness. It alerted the world through established formal diplomatic channels, public statements, and social media platforms, while concurrently convening a network of global experts and publishing comprehensive, detailed guidance for countries on how best to protect their domestic populations and healthcare systems.
When the WHO Director-General formally declared COVID-19 to be a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020, invoking the highest level of legal alarm under the international health regulations, the global epidemiological picture was starkly different from later stages. Outside of China, there were fewer than 100 reported cases of the virus and zero reported deaths at the time of that critical declaration. In the subsequent weeks and months of the unfolding crisis, the Director-General repeatedly urged all world governments to take immediate, decisive action to protect their citizens, issuing urgent public warnings that "the window of opportunity is closing," declaring that "this is not a drill," and famously describing the novel coronavirus as "public enemy number one."
In direct response to the multiple independent and institutional reviews conducted regarding the management of the COVID-19 pandemic—including evaluations of the WHO’s own operational performance—the organization has taken concrete steps to strengthen its internal processes. Furthermore, it has actively worked to support individual countries in bolstering their own national pandemic preparedness and response capacities. The surveillance, alert, and response systems that the agency developed, managed, and maintained before, during, and after the acute emergency phase of the pandemic continue to operate around the clock, contributing fundamentally to keeping all nations safe, including the United States.
Another key assertion made by the United States in its withdrawal statements was the claim that the WHO has "pursued a politicized, bureaucratic agenda driven by nations hostile to American interests." The organization has firmly rejected this characterization as entirely untrue. As a specialized agency of the United Nations that is governed collectively by 194 Member States, the WHO emphasizes that it has always remained strictly impartial. It exists solely to serve all countries equitably, operating with deep respect for national sovereignty and conducting its mandate without fear or favor toward any geopolitical bloc.
Despite the setback of the U.S. notification, the WHO expressed deep appreciation for the continued support and active engagement of its remaining Member States. These nations continue to work collaboratively within the established multilateral framework of the WHO to pursue enduring solutions to the world’s most formidable health threats, encompassing both communicable and noncommunicable diseases. Most notably, Member States achieved a historic milestone last year by formally adopting the WHO Pandemic Agreement. Once fully ratified, this pact will become a landmark instrument of international law designed to keep the world significantly safer from future pandemics.
Building upon that foundational framework, Member States are currently engaged in delicate negotiations regarding a specialized annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement known as the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system. If successfully adopted, this system will actively promote the rapid detection and transparent sharing of pathogens possessing pandemic potential, while simultaneously ensuring equitable and timely global access to life-saving vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for all populations in need.
Concluding its official response, the World Health Organization expressed its sincere hope that the United States will, in the future, reconsider its position and return to active participation within the agency. In the meantime, the WHO remains steadfastly and unequivocally committed to working hand in hand with all countries across the globe in tireless pursuit of its core constitutional mission and mandate: ensuring the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental, non-negotiable human right for all people, without distinction.
