January 22, 2026, will go down in history as the day of the final rupture between Washington and the global health architecture. The United States has officially terminated its membership in the World Health Organization (WHO). The procedure, initiated by Donald Trump on the first day of his second presidential term, concluded with an unprecedented demarche: a refusal to settle financial obligations, the loss of access to epidemiological intelligence, and the announcement of alternative international structures.
Financial Ultimatum: “We Paid Enough”
The US exit involves a direct violation of its own legislation. A 1948 Joint Congressional Resolution stipulates that the country can only leave the WHO on the condition that all financial arrears are cleared. According to Reuters, at the time of departure, Washington had not paid dues for 2024 and 2025, totaling $260 million.
However, the White House administration categorically rejected demands for payment. A State Department spokesperson stated that the WHO’s mismanagement of pandemics had cost the American economy trillions of dollars.
“The American people have paid more than enough to this organization. The economic hit we took is beyond a down payment on any financial obligations to the organization.”
— US State Department Spokesperson (via Reuters)
Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, called this a “clear violation of US law,” adding, however, that Trump is “highly likely to get away with it.”
Blow to WHO: Personnel and Budget Crisis
The loss of its largest donor (the US provided about 18% of the organization’s budget) has already triggered a structural crisis in Geneva. According to STAT and Pharmaphorum, the WHO is forced to take radical measures:
- Cutting the management team by 50%;
- Laying off 25% of the total staff by mid-2026;
- Freezing programs for the prevention of non-communicable diseases.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus admitted that the budget for 2026–2027 is only 75% secured. “The mood in Geneva is doom and gloom,” experts comment.
US Biosecurity: A “Dusty Day 1”
Analysts at STAT News warn that Trump’s political decision creates critical vulnerabilities for the US itself. The country is being disconnected from the global system for sharing data on infectious threats (including the GISRS network).
The situation is exacerbated by internal purges. The administration has carried out mass layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and effectively dismantled the pandemic preparedness office in the White House.
“So we would be starting from a very dusty Day 1. There’s probably cobwebs in half of the systems that we normally had going all the time. If we thought Covid went badly in the United States, we have no idea what we’re in for,” stated Nikki Romanik, a former senior White House biosecurity official.
Global Dismantling: The End of the USAID Era
Pharmaphorum points out that the withdrawal from the WHO is part of a systemic strategy to dismantle UN institutions. Trump has already dismantled USAID, putting vaccination and maternal health programs in developing countries at risk.
Furthermore, the US plans to withdraw from more than 30 UN programs (covering climate, energy, and women’s rights). As an alternative, Washington is creating its own structures — for example, a “Board of Peace” in Gaza, which observers believe is intended to replace UN functions in the region.
Geopolitical Vacuum
Experts agree that US isolation plays into the hands of geopolitical competitors. “Stepping away, giving up our seat at the table is a gift to China and Russia,” notes Stephanie Psaki from Brown University.
Speaking in Davos, Bill Gates was pessimistic in his forecast:
“I don’t think the U.S. will be coming back to WHO in the near future. But the world needs the World Health Organization.”
— Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Source: Combined analysis based on materials from STAT, Reuters, and Pharmaphorum
