Trump’s transition team hopes to pull the country out of the WHO and defund the United Nations “health” agency as one of his first tasks under the new administration.
The move would cut one of the WHO’s major cash flows, the Financial Times (FT) has reported, citing health experts.
According to the report, members of Trump’s team told the experts that they intend to announce a withdrawal from the Chinese Communist Party-linked global “health” body on inauguration day, January 20.
Some in the team reportedly want the U.S. to stay in the WHO but push to reform it.
However, another group, which hopes to cut ties, is reportedly winning the argument.
The transition team wants Trump to withdraw from the WHO on the first day because of the “symbolism” of reversing President Joe Biden’s inauguration-day move, FT wrote.
The outlet cited Ashish Jha, Biden’s former White House Covid response coordinator.
On January 20, 2021, Biden restarted relations with the UN body.
It came after his then-predecessor Trump initiated a withdrawal process in line with his criticism of the WHO’s handling of the pandemic in 2020.
Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown Law, told FT:
“America is going to leave a huge vacuum in global health financing and leadership.
“I see no one that is going to fill the breach.”
The plan to withdraw “on Day One” would be “catastrophic”, he added.
The WHO is a UN body that acts as a coordinating authority on international health issues.
The agency gets its funding from dues-paying member states as well as voluntary contributions.
The U.S. has been one of the China-centric organization’s largest donors for decades.
According to WHO’s data, America is currently the second-largest contributor among its member states.
In 2020, Trump accused the WHO of being under China’s control amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The president claimed that Beijing had pressured the organization to “mislead the world” about the virus and pledged to direct U.S. funds to other global public health charities instead.
Under a 1948 Congressional resolution, the U.S. can withdraw from the WHO but must give a year’s notice and should pay outstanding fees.
The Trump team, however, did not comment directly on the potential withdrawal, noted FT.
In November, Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy to become the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
RFK Jr. was among the vocal critics of the WHO-recommended Covid response measures imposed by governments around the world.
The WHO pushed for strict lockdowns and the introduction of experimental mRNA “vaccines” for public use.
Kennedy’s nomination has yet to be approved by the Senate.
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