G. Yamey and B. K. Titanji. 2025. New England J. Medicine. Perspective. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2501790
On July 6, 2020, during his first presidency, Donald Trump notified the United Nations secretary-general that the United States would withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO). The withdrawal never happened because the process takes a year, as outlined in a 1948 joint resolution of Congress,1 and President Joe Biden reversed the decision on his first day in office. But Trump has done it again: on the day of his second inauguration, January 20, 2025, he issued an executive order saying the United States will withdraw from the WHO and pause the future transfer of U.S. funding to the organization. The order also recalls U.S. personnel working with the WHO in any capacity. [read more].
Note: Pathogens and vectors don’t respect political boundaries and these actions may have dire consequences for surveillance and control of communicable diseases, especially considering DOGE cuts to the US CDC and USAID.