It did not come as a surprise, because Trump has been saying it for years, but that did not make the shock in the medical-scientific world any less severe on Tuesday. Less than eight hours after his inauguration speech, Donald Trump said he was leaving the World Health Organization (WHO).
He was already planning to do this in the summer of 2020, according to him because the WHO would have helped China to “mislead the world” about the origin of the SARS-CoV2 virus. But because the notice period lasts a year, his successor Biden immediately reversed the decision after his inauguration.
Now, with four more years of government ahead, things are different. The way is clear for Trump to break with an organization that, according to him, is on the leash of China and, in his view, receives a disproportionate amount of money from the US. “The WHO defrauded us, everyone defrauded the United States, that won’t happen again from now on,” Trump said when signing the decree.
The plan still has to pass Congress, which has a narrow Republican majority. A few dissident voters in those ranks may be enough to block Trump’s decision, but in theory, departure from the WHO is closer than ever.
Smallpox and polio
The United States finances almost a fifth of the entire WHO budget and is the purveyor of scientific knowledge, institutes and researchers. The country has long played a crucial role in combating diseases around the world, from AIDS to malaria. “Together we ended smallpox and nearly eradicated polio,” the WHO said on Tuesday in a commentexpressing disappointment and concerns about the announced departure. “American institutions have contributed to and benefited from WHO membership.”
The US finances almost a fifth of the entire WHO budget and is the purveyor of scientific knowledge
Departure from the partnership marks a danger for the entire world, scientists warn on Tuesday in an alarming opinion piece in the British Medical Journal. “The consequences will be felt across borders, the decision leaves the WHO weakened and the US isolated at times when global health crises require unity.”
For its information position, for example, the WHO relies heavily on renowned American knowledge and health institutes such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If those ties are cut, warned virologist Marion Koopmans Tuesday in the scientific journal Sciencethis seriously affects the information position of the WHO.
America First
Trump’s decree above all exposes the naivety of an ‘America First’ policy in a world where pathogens do not respect national borders. It raises the question of what the country has to gain from this, apart from a slightly fuller treasury. The US will lose its voice in major global health issues, creating a power vacuum that ironically China will step into, experts predict. Yes, the US can in this way avoid the obligation to distribute scarce resources, such as vaccines, to other countries, but it also runs the risk of being left behind.
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And by breaking the partnerships between the WHO and American knowledge institutions, Trump is taking a big risk. American laboratories and pharmaceutical companies depend on the WHO for important information. For example, at the beginning of the corona pandemic, American scientists gained access to crucial information through the WHO about the new virus SARS-CoV2 that had broken out in China.
Too little mandate
As the largest spender, the US has a lot of money to make. The WHO will be left weakened if the US leaves, and Trump knows that all too well. So the question is whether the soup is eaten as hot as it is served. Trump may use the decree to pound his fist on the table and try to force changes. Changes that the WHO recognizes are necessary.
In Tuesday’s statement, the World Health Organization expressly thanked the US for the past seven years of implementing “the largest package of reforms in the history of the World Health Organization.” The organization became more cost-effective and efficient.