""The United States will not be making any payments to the WHO before our withdrawal on January 22, 2026,""
""The cost [borne] by the US taxpayer and US economy after the WHO's failure during the COVID pandemic-and since-has been too high as it is. We will ensure that no more US funds are routed to this organization.""
""I hope they will reconsider,""
The United States announced it will not make payments to the World Health Organization before a planned withdrawal on January 22, 2026, citing high costs borne by US taxpayers and the economy after perceived WHO failures during the COVID pandemic. The US had promised $490 million in voluntary contributions for two years toward WHO programs such as health emergency response, tuberculosis control, and polio eradication; some of that money may have been paid. The WHO began immediate cost-cutting measures, froze recruitment, restricted travel, made meetings virtual, limited IT updates, suspended refurbishments, and started staff reductions, projecting a 22 percent staffing decline by midyear. WHO leadership warned the withdrawal weakens global health security, reduces US access to infectious-disease intelligence and influence over outbreak responses, and expressed hope for reconsideration.
Read at Ars Technica
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