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Among a slew of executive orders signed shortly after he took over as the 47th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump also withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO) largely because of its decision to mistreat the health body. of the UN 19 Pandemic which involved not sharing important information in time which would have been essential in managing the outbreak of the disease in the country. Trump also had an issue with transparency as he felt the UN health body was not acting transparently.
The move has been met with heavy criticism, both at home and globally.
Dr Pete Baker, Policy Fellow and Deputy Director of Global Health Policy at the Center for Global Development, said, “… it undermines global health security and jeopardizes progress on critical issues such as pandemic preparedness and antimicrobial resistance … the accompanying withdrawal of US support for the Pandemic Agreement are the biggest threat. US political support for the global health security architecture is irreplaceable. If this continues, it will seriously hamper efforts of the world to ensure preparedness for future health threats.”
Experts also expressed concerns about the negative impact the move will have on multilateralism.
K Sujatha Rao, former health secretary, Government of India, said, “The US is a significant contributor to WHO. But more importantly, who is an international organization made up of health ministers from over 190 countries. Disease knows no borders and health issues cannot be managed without the active cooperation of all. The US is an important country and its membership in WHO is equally vital. It is a hasty decision to come sorry. I hope the US will have a rethink…”
In his official response, he also regretted the US decision and hoped it would reconsider.
“The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the organization … we hope that the United States will reconsider, and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the United States and those who, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe,” the UN health body said in an official statement shortly after Trump made the decision.
While these concerns are valid, there is another problem that the US withdrawal is likely to lead to, and that is the next largest donor taking up that space. It is not difficult to guess which country it will be as it is publicly known that the second biggest donor after the US happens to be China. It will only make sense not to remove the space if the concerns the US has raised about whose operation needs to be addressed.
