IT·Science News

US formally leaves the World Health Organization after a year’s notice

The United States formally exited the World Health Organization on Thursday 22 January, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says in a fact sheet, a year after President Trump signed Executive Order 14155 on 20 January 2025. HHS says all US government funding to the WHO has been terminated and US personnel have been recalled from its headquarters and offices. It puts mandatory US contributions at about $111 million a year on average, with voluntary contributions of roughly $570 million a year.

A New York Times report republished by NextBillion says the exit carried out the order Trump issued on his first day in office, and that global health experts worry a lack of international coordination will lead to death and disaster. The New Arab, reporting when the UN confirmed the date a year earlier, called the US by far the WHO’s biggest financial backer, at around 18 percent of its funding, against a 2024–2025 budget of $6.8 billion. Under a 1948 congressional resolution, the US must give one year’s notice and pay its dues.

How each outlet framed it

• HHS — the official case: funding ended, and the US will work with partners directly, with accountability “outside of WHO structures”.
• The New York Times — the risk: experts fear the loss of coordination will cost lives.
• The New Arab — the money and the law: the largest funder leaving, and a legal duty to pay what it owes.

What we don't know yet: whether outstanding US dues will be paid. The New Arab said the amount owed was unclear, and the HHS fact sheet does not address it.