The World Health Organization on Tuesday expressed deep regret over the United States' announcement that it intends to withdraw from the agency, framing the decision as a potential setback for global health security at a time when countries remain vulnerable to disease outbreaks and other cross-border health threats.
In a statement, WHO said it "regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization," and emphasized that the agency plays a "crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world's people, including Americans." The organization pointed to its work addressing the root causes of disease, strengthening health systems and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including outbreaks in places where access is difficult and conditions are dangerous.
The statement underscored the long history of U.S. participation in the agency. The United States was a founding member of WHO in 1948 and has helped shape and govern its work ever since, alongside 193 other member states. WHO noted that American participation has extended through the World Health Assembly and the Executive Board, the two central bodies through which member states guide the agency's priorities and oversight.
For more than seven decades, WHO said, the partnership between the United States and the organization has helped save "countless lives" and protect Americans as well as people around the world from health threats. The agency highlighted two of the most significant public health achievements in modern history: the eradication of smallpox and the near-eradication of polio. "Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication," WHO said, adding that American institutions have both contributed to and benefited from membership in the organization.
The agency also pointed to reforms undertaken over the past seven years, saying that with the participation of the United States and other member states, WHO has implemented "the largest set of reforms in its history" to improve accountability, cost-effectiveness and impact in countries. WHO said that work is continuing, suggesting that the organization sees the current moment not as a closing of the door but as a test of whether its largest historical backer will remain engaged.
The announcement from Washington comes at a sensitive moment for global health institutions, which have spent recent years confronting the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, recurring outbreaks of infectious disease and growing pressure to deliver faster, more coordinated responses across borders. WHO's warning reflects a broader concern among public health officials that withdrawal by a major member state could complicate financing, coordination and the exchange of expertise that underpin international health surveillance and emergency response.
While the statement did not address the specific reasons behind the U.S. decision, it made clear that WHO is seeking to keep the relationship intact. "We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe," the organization said.
The message was both diplomatic and pointed: WHO is signaling that the stakes go beyond institutional politics. In its telling, the relationship between the United States and the agency has been a practical instrument for disease control, emergency response and scientific cooperation, and its loss could reverberate far beyond Geneva. For now, WHO is leaving the door open, but its statement makes clear that it views the U.S. announcement as a threat not only to the organization's future, but to the shared global health architecture built over the last 76 years.