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WHO Presses U.S. to Reconsider Withdrawal, Citing Safety Risks and Legal Doubts

The agency says unresolved arrears complicate the one-year exit process set in motion by a 2025 order.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, says it is his wish that the US decides to rejoin the organisation. AFP
U.S. withdrawal from WHO makes the world "unsafe," says WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus | Image: AP
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Overview

  • The one-year withdrawal window reaches its mark next week, but WHO says completion remains unclear because the constitution lacks a general exit clause and the U.S. joined under a special 1948 reservation.
  • Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said leaving would make the United States and the world less safe, urging Washington to rejoin.
  • WHO legal chief Steve Solomon noted the U.S. is in arrears for 2024 and 2025, and that member states must judge whether required conditions have been met.
  • Tedros warned the move would cut the U.S. off from WHO-run disease surveillance, coordination and emergency response systems that bolster health security.
  • President Donald Trump ordered the departure on Jan. 20, 2025, with formal notice delivered that week, starting a countdown that is due to expire this month.