U.S. Pullback from U.N. Agencies Hasty
WITHIN less than a week of his returning to the White House for a second four-year presidential term on January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued executive orders alienating the United States from the United Nations’ preeminent agencies, the World Health Organization - WHO – and UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
President Donald Trump had already pulled out the U.S. membership of some other global alliances like the United Nations Human Rights Council - the UNHRC- during his first term. But as per the statement issued on February 4, 2025, the White House noted that ‘some of UN’s agencies and bodies have drifted from the UN’s mission to promote international peace and security and instead act contrary to the interests of the US while attacking our allies.’ In 2018, the US withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council; now, the US will ‘reevaluate our commitment to other institutions such as the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), WHO, and the UNESCO.’
Apparently, since there is no doubt that as the U.S. leadership is enormously critical of the United Nations’ allied bodies in respect of providing financial and human resources support; the U.S. also benefits from its association with these global agencies. For example, numerous American institutions like the CDC --Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-- also gain new insights in treating unknown pandemics such as the outbreak of Ebola in Lagos, Nigeria. It was many American experts who helped in identifying disease and treating it. In addition, the US medical experts helped collaborate and train the local workers.
According to a recent report in The Washington Post, WHO and its member nations are currently battling an outbreak of Marburg virus, a deadly cousin of Ebola, in Tanzania; struggling to contain the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in the USA; and trying to stop the return of vaccine-preventable childhood diseases, such as measles, amid rising vaccine hesitancy around the globe.
Therefore, America’s ‘disengaging from WHO would rob the country of crucial information about emerging outbreaks like mpox and resurgent dangers like malaria and measles,’ as The New York Times points out. Besides, according to an NYT report, the ‘Americans’ health is at stake… Border walls protectionist policies can’t stop infectious diseases from entering the country. Only with vigilant international monitoring of infections, containment of outbreaks and eventual eradication of infectious diseases around the world can Americans also be protected and secure.’ Thus, the U.S.’s continued relationship would be immensely significant and shouldn’t be discontinued.
Besides, America, as frontrunner in advanced medical research, should share vaccines with other countries, training medical providers to offer care abroad, collaborating on clinical trials and research studies with other institutions. Since WHO keeps tracking new medical practices on antibiotics and other drugs, developing countries can be invited to take advantage of such innovations. The U.S. contributes nearly 90% to the WHO budget; for two years 2024, 2025, US contribution of $264 million has already been deposited. But China has contributed only $181 million, a difference of about 31 percent. In addition, the US has also provided $442 million in 2025, while China has given only $2.5 million—Chinese total contribution is about 74% less than the U.S.’s 90% to the WHO budget.
But somehow, it’s often felt that President Trump is less than sympathetic to their inabilities to instantly grapple with pandemics like the Covid-19 that hurt America’s global image. America’s quitting WHO ‘would be disastrous.’ WHO’s role is ‘second to none in providing timely responses and more targeted deployment of resources when public health crises strike.’ America’s Centers for Diseases Control comes to rescue whenever such emergent needs arise. President Trump has been vehemently critical of WHO’s dithered action to handle Covid-19 due to the DG’s alleged sympathy to China which was believed to be responsible for Covid’s spreading all over the world.
In any case, US’s withdrawal from WHO has not been generally well approved. Also, as Dr. Helen Clark, a former senior official of the United Nations Development Programme, has stated, it’s ‘unclear whether President Trump can unilaterally sever ties with WHO… its membership was ‘enshrined by a congressional (US parliamentary) joint resolution and may have to be dissolved in the same way.’ Therefore, for US to quit the WHO may take at least 12 months or so.
Incidentally, the United States was highly critical of China’s role in WHO’s mishandling of Covid -19, and its Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also came under heavy questioning for delayed action to control Covid-19. WHO’s member-nations, however, can’t criticize China for its alleged scant cooperation in probing why China was initially blamed to be the pandemic’s origin.
Finally, if the US decides to quit WHO, it ‘loses access to the WHO’s information and data sharing online reports and informal communications may fill some of the void, but they may be muffled, filtered or marred by misinformation.’ And that may cause extremely serious repercussions on global health issues.
UNESCO pullout:
The US decision to disconnect with the UN’s scientific, educational and cultural agency will take effect at the end of 2026. The US’s this action is dictated by President Trump’s ‘deep mistrust and distaste of multilateralism and international institutions, especially those connected with the UN. ‘The continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the US’, according to the U.S. State Department. UNESCO has been accused of promoting ‘divisive, social and cultural causes.’ The US excised funding during President Obama’s regime ‘after UNESCO voted to include Palestine as a full member in 2011 and then pulled out completely during Trump’s first term, 2017-2020. However, in 2023 the Joe Biden administration rejoined. UNESCO is the UN’s 194-member body known for designating world heritage sites. (In India, there are 44 World Heritage Sites – 36 cultural, seven natural and one, Khangchendzonga National Park, Gangtok, Sikkim. India has the sixth most sites worldwide; the US has 26; 21 are single location sites.)
It’s the third time that the US has withdrawn from UNESCO. The US financial contribution during 2025 is expected to be $ 75 million. Ms. Audrey Azoulay, a French national, is UNESCO’s current director-general.
- R. Dua, former professor-head, journalism department, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi, and an ex-faculty Journalism, California State University, US.
