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2d ago

U.S. Formalizes WHO Exit as RFK Jr. Criticizes Pandemic Response and Chinese Influence

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calls for global health reform and outlines a U.S. pivot to domestic health priorities after prerecorded address is excluded from WHO assembly.

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 14, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis
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Overview

  • The U.S. has officially begun its withdrawal from the World Health Organization under a 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
  • HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. submitted a prerecorded video to the WHO’s 78th World Health Assembly criticizing the organization’s COVID-19 response and alleged Chinese influence, but the video was not aired.
  • Kennedy accused the WHO of suppressing early COVID-19 transmission reports and promoting an animal-origin theory under pressure from China.
  • The U.S. plans to redirect its health efforts toward pandemic preparedness and chronic-disease prevention while promoting alternative global health cooperation frameworks.
  • The WHO’s Pandemic Accords, requiring ratification by 60 nations, are under consideration by member states, with the U.S. declining to participate.