Fulfilling his other campaign promise, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization. The US is the WHO's top donor, contributing about $130 million per year to help cover its global health preparedness and response, along with efforts to address HIV, tuberculosis, and childhood vaccination.
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Trump claimed that the agency failed badly in responding to COVID-19 and had not demonstrated its independence from China. The text of the executive order cites the "organisation's mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states," as reasons for the US withdrawal.
Trump Signs Executive Order for US Withdrawal From WHO
"That's a big one," Trump told an aide as he began to sign the executive order, pointing to his 2020 decision and his belief that the US was paying too much money to the organisation compared to other countries. The order also said that the WHO "continues to demand unfairly onerous payments" from the US.