Highlight 17/2025: How is Trump’s withdrawal from the WHO influencing other exits, like Argentina’s, and shaping the future of health multilateralism?
Juliette Béna, 14 March 2025
On the first day of his second term in January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). His decision was motivated by criticisms of the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, its perceived lack of political independence, and its failure to implement meaningful reforms. This move has had significant consequences for the WHO, both financially and politically. As the largest contributor to the WHO, providing around 15% of its budget, the U.S. withdrawal creates a substantial funding gap and undermines the organization’s ability to coordinate global health efforts on the short and medium term.
By withdrawing from the WHO, the U.S. not only weakens the organization but also sets a precedent for other nations to follow. In February 2025, Argentina’s President Javier Milei announced that his country would also withdraw from the WHO, citing similar concerns about the organization’s inefficiency and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Argentina’s departure has less financial impact than the U.S.’s, it signals a growing distrust in multilateral institutions and highlights the influence of the U.S. on global health policy.
Argentina’s decision is particularly significant because it marks a shift for a country that has historically supported multilateralism. By withdrawing, Argentina risks isolating itself from global health networks and limiting its ability to respond to future health crises. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of international cooperation, making Argentina’s exit a concerning development. Critics argue that instead of abandoning the WHO, Argentina and the U.S. should have worked to reform the organization from within, addressing issues like inefficiency, bureaucratic hurdles, and inequities in decision-making.
The withdrawals of the U.S. and Argentina have exposed the fragility of global health governance. The WHO, while imperfect, remains the only organization with the mandate and reach to coordinate global health responses. The loss of key member states weakens its ability to address pandemics, climate-related health crises, and other emergencies. However, these exits have also prompted a reevaluation of the global health architecture. Regional organizations, such as the African Union and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), are playing an increasingly prominent role, offering a model for more localized and context-specific solutions.
The withdrawals risk weakening the global health system at a time when international cooperation is crucial to addressing pandemics, climate-related health crises, and other emergencies. The world’s health challenges demand collective action, not fragmentation, and the U.S. and Argentina’s exits underscore the urgent need for renewed commitment to global health solidarity.
Juliette Béna, Highlight 17/2025: How is Trump’s withdrawal from the WHO influencing other exits, like Argentina’s, and shaping the future of health multilateralism?, 14 March 2025, available at www.meig.ch
The views expressed in the MEIG Highlights are personal to the authors and neither reflect the positions of the MEIG Programme nor those of the University of Geneva.