LONDON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization, citing concerns about the U.N. agency’s ability to fight disease and respond to emergencies around the world without its biggest backer.
Here are facts about US funding for global health and the potential consequences of Trump’s move, which could be followed by further cuts in international contributions.
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The US contributes about 18% of the funding to the WHO, which is struggling to raise money for health emergencies from Gaza to Ukraine. The agency’s two-year budget for 2024-2025 was $6.8 billion.
During that period, the U.S. funded 75% of the WHO’s HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases program and more than half of contributions to tuberculosis control, the agency’s data show.
The US is by far the world’s largest global healthcare donor, donating $15.8 billion in 2022, according to Donor Tracker, a platform that tracks development finance.
PANDEMIC TREATY
Trump is also skeptical of the WHO-led negotiations on a post-COVID pandemic deal aimed at improving global solidarity when the next health threat strikes.
Billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk has said countries “should not cede authority” to the WHO. The US will suspend negotiations on the treaty as long as its withdrawal continues.
STAFF OF GENEVA
Trump’s order also stated that U.S. personnel and contractors working with the WHO would be recalled and reassigned.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has worked closely with the WHO, deploying approximately 30 staff to Geneva and collaborating on investigations and outbreaks.
There are also a number of WHO Collaborating Centers in America.
DISEASE MONITORING
The US, like other WHO member states, is part of a global influenza surveillance network overseen by WHO.
The group advises, among other things, on the composition of the annual seasonal flu vaccine.
In addition to its work with WHO, the US also funds many other global health programs.
AIDS
The US is a major funder in the fight against HIV. Much of this comes from PEPFAR, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Last year, it was reauthorized by Congress for another year, after conservative claims that some grant recipients promote abortion. That authorization expires in March.
ABORTION
During his last term, Trump reintroduced the so-called “Mexico City policy,” which requires foreign charities that receive U.S. family planning funds to declare that they do not provide abortions or abortion counseling.
He expanded the policy, known by critics as the “global gag rule,” by cracking down on charities that fund other groups that support abortion. Trump also cut funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which deals with reproductive health.
VACCINES
Now that vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Junior has been nominated as secretary of health, the Trump administration’s approach to vaccinations, both domestically and internationally, is unclear.
However, during Trump’s last administration, contributions to the global vaccine group Gavi remained about the same as under his Democratic predecessor and successor in the White House.
Funding also remained at a similar level for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, another major global health player.
INVESTIGATION AND RESPONSE
Health authorities in the United States respond to emergencies and outbreaks around the world, and also set norms and standards for medicine and safety through the Food and Drugs Administration and the CDC.
The National Institutes of Health is one of the leading research centers in the world, funding global health work around the world, from efforts to combat MPox to Ebola.
The US global role in these areas under Trump is not yet clear, and will likely be determined to some extent by events and priorities. For example, Trump created Operation Warp Speed during the pandemic to work on COVID-19 vaccines.
(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby in London and Emma Farge in Geneva; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
