The United States‘ exit from the World Health Organisation (WHO) went into effect today.

This comes one year after US President Donald Trump ordered the country’s departure from the WHO shortly after taking office.

According to the agreement between the US and the organisation, the withdrawal takes effect after a one-year notice period, which ends today.

One of the agreement’s withdrawal requirements, requiring the US to pay its agreed-upon financial obligations in full, has not been satisfied.

However, the WHO has no tool to compel payment or prevent removal.

Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, expressed optimism that the US will reconsider its decision and rejoin the institution, stating that the “withdrawal is a loss for the US and also a loss for the rest of the world”.

Trump issued an executive order in 2025, shortly after taking office, to begin the process of withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organisation.

The move was made because of the organization’s “mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states” .

The executive order also stated that WHO sought “unfairly onerous payments” from the United States that were disproportionate to the amounts paid by other larger countries, such as China.

During the signing of the order, Trump stated, “World Health ripped us off; everyone rips off the United States.” “It won’t happen anymore.”

The US exit has triggered a funding crisis at WHO, requiring the institution to half its executive team and reduce operations, with budget cuts across the board.

The United States has typically been the organization’s largest financial donor, accounting for around 18% of its total contributions.