IPHA Comment on US Intent to Withdraw from WHO
IPHA Comments on US announcement of intent to withdraw from the World Health Organization.
January 21, 2025
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order giving notice that the United States would withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Illinois Public Health Association (IPHA) opposes the proposed U.S. withdrawal from WHO. Leaving the WHO will have long-ranging consequences on US security, diplomacy, and have a far reaching health impact not only on the world, but also on all Americans. Leaving WHO would mean, among other things, that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would have no access to the global data that the agency provides.
The United States was a founding member of WHO in 1948 and has participated in shaping and governing WHO’s work ever since, alongside 193 other Member States, including through its active participation in the World Health Assembly and Executive Board. For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats. W.H.O. members effectively ended smallpox and brought polio to the brink of eradication. American scientific and health entities contributed to and benefited from membership in WHO.
WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go.
It is vital that public health organizations in the US and throughout the world actively protest this order to withdraw as it will put at risk programs across the world which ensure the health of all populations.