This afternoon, the Associated Press is reporting that United States officials have officially ordered all public health officers to cease working at the World Health Organization just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order pulling the United States out of the World Health Organization.

As of President Donald Trump’s first day back in office Monday, the United States is leaving the World Health Organization. Some local experts think such a move might leave Spokane and the United States unprepared for the next pandemic.

The World Health Organization is shaped by its members: 194 countries that set health priorities and make agreements about how to share critical data, treatments, and vaccines during international emergencies.

WHO’s constitution, drafted in New York, doesn’t have a clear exit method for member states. A joint resolution by Congress in 1948 outlined that the U.S. can withdraw with one year's notice. This is contingent, however, on ensuring that its financial obligations to WHO “shall be met in full for the organization’s current fiscal year.”

WHO plays a unique role in global health, which may complicate the Trump administration's ability to replicate the agency's activities.

More than half of Americans believe the U.S. benefits from its membership in the WHO. As of April 2024, 25% of U.S. adults say the country benefits a great deal from its membership, while about one third say it benefits a fair amount. Conversely, 38% say the U.S. does not benefit much or at all from WHO membership.

Public health experts say the United States’ departure could cripple the WHO’s operations or leave an opening for China to assume greater control over the agency.

We’ve heard about the threat that United ... global health. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump tabled several dozen executive orders, among them a stunning directive to re-initiate the American withdrawal from the World Health ...

The United States' decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) can only be described as a reckless act that sets back decades of mul

World Health Organization officials declared the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak -- later to be dubbed COVID-19 -- a public health emergency of international concern.

“We’re simply saying in this bill that the state is sovereign and that no foreign entity can dictate policy in the state,” said committee chair Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem, who, prior to his time in the Utah House of Representatives, served as executive director of the Utah State Department of Health.