Logo Image
News|Articles|January 24, 2025

Trump's Withdrawal from WHO and other Health-Related Changes

Author(s)Todd Shryock

Executive orders issued on the first day of the presidency affect various health initiatives.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization (WHO). The order was one of several focused on health care-related initiatives.

The order states that the US is withdrawing “due to the organization’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.”

The order also states that the payments are unfair, with China having 300% more population than the US but paying 90% less to the organization.

The order establishes that the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs shall create directorates and coordinating mechanisms within the National Security Council apparatus “as he deems necessary and appropriate to safeguard public health and fortify biosecurity.”

All funding, support, and resources for the WHO from the US are immediately suspended, and the order mandates that the Director of the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy “shall review, rescind, and replace the 2024 US Global Health Security Strategy as soon as practicable.”

Other executive orders issued by the president included:

  • Rescinding an order for the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to experiment with 3 drug pricing models—none of which had been fully implemented yet. The pricing programs were intended to help Medicaid pay for cell and gene therapies, help Medicare pay less for drugs that receive accelerated approval from the FDA, and a project to encourage Medicare prescription drug plans to offer generic drugs for a $2 copay.
  • Rescinding an order that increased the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act in most states and funding for third parties that help people enroll.
  • Rescinding several COVID-19-related Biden-era policies were rescinded during the pandemic. The policies related to testing, treatment research, and economic relief.
  • Rescinding a policy against discriminating against people based on sexual or gender identity and ending conversion therapy.
  • Rescinding a policy that offered students protections based on sex and gender identity in schools.

Related to this article

View more
A group of students raising their hands in class during a lecture (Adobe Stock 292282454 by Mediteraneo
Once a Teacher, Always a Teacher: Why Infection Prevention Is Education
How do you celebrate an infection that never happened? That's one of the unusual challenges infection preventionists share with teachers. Both can spend their careers changing outcomes they may never see. Both educate people who don't always want to listen. Both are second-guessed. Both face burnout. And both must somehow keep remembering why they started.
Read more
Measles outbreak and vaccination (Adobe Stock 1971993240 by Ming)
The Price of Forgetting What Vaccines Prevent
The US effectively eliminated measles once. Now cases are climbing again, infants remain vulnerable, people have died, and vaccine misinformation is undermining one of public health's greatest achievements. The price of forgetting what vaccines prevent can be measured in lives.
Read more
Sadé L. Rolon, MBA, CMIP, CHESP, T-CHEST, T-CSCT, the regional director of operations for Sodexo’s Healthcare Division, Julie Mangino, MD, infectious disease specialist at The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH, James “JJ” Odom, MBA, CHESP, CMIP, T-CHEST, the university director of buildings & grounds at UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, Christopher Dugard, MS, director for the Division of Infection Control Devices in the Office of Surgical and Infection Control Devices, FDA/Center for Devices and Radiological Health. and Elizabeth “Liz” Claverie, MS, (retired CAPT, 0-6) vice president, regulatory strategic liaison for Steris. (Image credit: Author)
The Robot Does Not Replace EVS: Why UV-C Must Remain an Adjunct to Cleaning
Can a UV-C robot make up for a surface that wasn't properly cleaned? Experts say that's the wrong way to think about the technology. UV-C can provide an additional layer of microbial reduction, but factors including shadows, distance, positioning, and exposure time mean it cannot replace thorough manual cleaning and disinfection.
Read more
Sadé L. Rolon, MBA, CMIP, CHESP, T-CHEST, T-CSCT, the regional director of operations for Sodexo’s Healthcare Division, Julie Mangino, MD, infectious disease specialist at The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH, James “JJ” Odom, MBA, CHESP, CMIP, T-CHEST, the university director of buildings & grounds at UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, Christopher Dugard, MS, director for the Division of Infection Control Devices in the Office of Surgical and Infection Control Devices, FDA/Center for Devices and Radiological Health. and Elizabeth “Liz” Claverie, MS, (retired CAPT, 0-6) vice president, regulatory strategic liaison for Steris. (Image credit: Author)
Whole-Room Microbial Reduction Devices: What FDA Authorization Really Means
During an expert panel at Exchange26 on whole-room microbial reduction technologies, regulatory and health care leaders discussed the distinction between FDA and EPA oversight, what constitutes a medical device claim, the risks surrounding unauthorized or off-label claims, and why IP and EVS professionals should verify a device's regulatory status rather than relying solely on vendor presentations.
Read more