Withdrawing the United States From the World Health Organization
The order formally reinstates the United States' withdrawal from the World Health Organization by revoking the 2021 letter that had retracted the prior withdrawal notice, immediately pausing all U.S. funding and personnel support to the WHO, and halting U.S. participation in WHO pandemic treaty negotiations.
It represents an immediate and self-executing shift in U.S. global health policy, severing the country's formal ties to the world's primary international public health body and redirecting the search for alternative health partners.
What this order does
What it orders
The order reinstates the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO by revoking the January 20, 2021, presidential letter that had retracted the original July 6, 2020, withdrawal notification. It revokes Executive Order 13987, which had organized U.S. government efforts on COVID-19 and global health security under the prior administration. The Secretary of State is directed to immediately notify the UN Secretary-General and WHO leadership of the withdrawal, and to cease all negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement and International Health Regulations amendments. The Secretary of State and OMB Director are directed to pause all U.S. funds and resources flowing to WHO, recall U.S. personnel or contractors working with WHO, and identify alternative partners to assume activities previously handled by WHO.
The Director of the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy is directed to review and replace the 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy. The order does not itself designate replacement partners or create a new global health framework; those steps depend on future actions by the named officials.
Who it affects
U.S. government personnel and contractors currently assigned to WHO operations worldwide, federal agencies that fund or coordinate with WHO, and the global public health community that relies on U.S. contributions to WHO programs. International partners expected to assume activities formerly handled by WHO are also affected.
Why it matters
The U.S. is WHO's largest single financial contributor; pausing that funding immediately affects the agency's ability to respond to disease outbreaks and global health emergencies. U.S. personnel are withdrawn from WHO operations, and participation in ongoing pandemic treaty negotiations stops, reshaping U.S. influence over future international health rules.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The withdrawal chain unfolds in stages: the Secretary of State notifies the UN Secretary-General immediately, triggering the formal one-year withdrawal clock under WHO's constitution. Simultaneously, the Secretary of State and OMB Director pause funds and begin recalling personnel "with all practicable speed." The National Security Advisor builds out NSC structures to cover biosecurity functions that would otherwise fall to WHO. The Office of Pandemic Preparedness reviews and replaces the 2024 Global Health Security Strategy "as soon as practicable." No formal enforcement mechanism or reporting requirement is specified for the identification of alternative partners.
Actions and deadlines
- Notify the UN Secretary-General and WHO leadership of the U.S. withdrawal
- Pause transfer of all U.S. government funds, support, or resources to WHO
- Recall and reassign U.S. government personnel or contractors working with WHO
- Identify credible alternative partners to assume activities previously undertaken by WHO
- Cease negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement and International Health Regulations amendments
- Establish NSC directorates and coordinating mechanisms to safeguard public health and biosecurity
- Review, rescind, and replace the 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy
Agencies directed to act
Authority and reach
What this order changes
Revokes Executive Order 13987