Controversy
Status:Open
Will the US Withdrawal from the WHO Affect Public Health?
UNLIKELYLIKELY
Claims
Atlas Institute"If the U.S. withdraws from the WHO, it would severely weaken global health initiatives, disrupt pandemic preparedness efforts, and diminish U.S. influence over international health policy."Mar 29, 2025
Ashish Jha"It means we are going to see a lot more disease outbreaks become regional and global, and we will see more disease outbreaks from other countries coming into the U.S."Jan 22, 2025
Jesse Bump"Public health disasters that don't have to happen will happen, because those capacities aren't there anymore [because of the US withdrawal from the WHO]."Jan 23, 2025
Stefano M. Bertozzi"There is no way you can isolate yourself from the world and be safe from the many health threats that don't respect borders."Mar 29, 2025
Ashish Jha"For Americans it may not be obvious immediately what the impact will be, but given the world we live in and all of the factors that are driving more disease outbreaks, America cannot fight them alone."Jan 22, 2025
Lawrence Gostin"This is shooting yourself in the foot and making America decidedly less safe and less secure."Jan 21, 2025
Jesse Bump"If the U.S. is no longer receiving news from WHO or its member states, that would mean we're more vulnerable to importing diseases spreading elsewhere."Jan 23, 2025
Steve Cohen"If the United States is no longer a member of WHO, Americans around the world would be more susceptible to disease, but they could also carry it back to the United States and infect multitudes."Jan 31, 2025
Tom Frieden"The bottom line is that withdrawing from the WHO makes Americans and the world less safe."Jan 22, 2025
Avril Benoit"President Trump's decision to withdraw from the WHO could have life-threatening consequences for people in the humanitarian contexts where we work as well as in the US."Jan 22, 2025
Michael Osterholm"Withdrawing from the World Health Organization will make the entire world less safe, and in particular the United States."Jan 21, 2025
Jesse Bump"With declining immunization against childhood diseases [amid the US's WHO withdrawal], it's more likely we would have outbreaks of polio, measles, and the like."Jan 23, 2025
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health"The WHO is already struggling financially, and the U.S.'s withdrawal will likely lead to a loss of jobs, reduction of work, and less ability to do the [global health] functions we just talked about."Feb 05, 2025
© 2025 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.16.0
© 2025 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.16.0