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World Health Organization says it regrets US decision to withdraw

Published by Global Banking & Finance Review

Posted on January 24, 2026

2 min read

· Last updated: January 24, 2026

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World Health Organization says it regrets US decision to withdraw
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Jan 24 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said it regrets that the U.S. has officially withdrawn from the U.N. health agency and it hopes Washington returns to active participation in the

World Health Organization says it regrets US decision to withdraw

Impact of US Withdrawal from WHO

Jan 24 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said it regrets that the U.S. has officially withdrawn from the U.N. health agency and it hopes Washington returns to active participation in the future.

Criticism of WHO's Pandemic Response

The U.S. left the organization on Thursday after a year of warnings that doing so would hurt public health in the U.S. and globally.

WHO's Stance on Global Health Crisis

President Donald Trump's administration has criticized the way the WHO handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump has said the WHO had failed to act independently from the "inappropriate political influence of WHO member states" and that the agency required "unfairly onerous payments" from the U.S. that were disproportionate to the sums provided by other, larger countries, such as China.

WHO said it stands by its response to the "unprecedented global health crisis" brought about by the pandemic, adding that "the systems we developed and managed before, during and after the emergency phase of the pandemic, and which run 24/7, have contributed to keeping all countries safe, including the U.S."

(Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)

Key Takeaways

  • The WHO regrets the US decision to withdraw.
  • The US criticized WHO's pandemic response.
  • Trump administration cited political influence concerns.
  • WHO defends its global health crisis management.
  • Hopes for future US participation in WHO.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a pandemic?
A pandemic is an outbreak of a disease that occurs on a global scale, affecting a large number of people across multiple countries or continents. The COVID-19 pandemic is a recent example.

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