Bloomberg: The US withdrew from WHO without paying $260 million in debt

The US has finally withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO), but has not paid its debts to the WHO.

Bloomberg writes about this.

Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the WHO on the first day of his second term, accusing the organization of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic, failing to reform it, and relying on “undue political influence”. The US withdrawal from the organization is now officially complete.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, all funding for the WHO has been suspended, staff have been withdrawn from headquarters and offices, and US participation in WHO governing bodies and working groups has also been suspended.

According to a 1948 congressional resolution, the US had to give a year’s notice and pay off its debts before it could leave. However, a senior US Department of Health official told reporters that the law does not require the debt to be paid before the withdrawal is complete. The US debt, according to the WHO, was about $260 million as of January 2025.

The US withdrawal deprived the WHO of its largest donor: the country contributed almost $1.3 billion in 2022-2023. Without these funds, programs to combat HIV, polio, and Ebola are at risk.

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