Trump administration officially withdraws US from WHO

Washington, July 08: The United States has formally withdrew from the World Health Organization, whose coronavirus response has been harshly criticized by President Donald Trump.

The United States told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the WHO's biggest contributor will leave effective July 6, 2021.

"Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the US from the @WHO in the midst of a pandemic," Senator Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on Twitter.

The withdrawal notification, delivered on Monday, makes good on President Donald Trump's vow in late May to terminate US participation in the WHO, which he has harshly criticized for its response to the coronavirus pandemic and accused of bowing to Chinese influence.

The move was immediately assailed by health officials and critics of the administration.

The withdrawal notice was sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday and will take effect in a year, on July 6, 2021, the State Department and the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Under the terms of the withdrawal, the US must meet its financial obligations to the WHO before it can be finalized.

The US, which is the agency's largest donor and provides it with more than USD 400 million per year, currently owes the WHO some USD 200 million in current and past dues.

In late May, less than two weeks after warning the WHO that it had 30 days to reform or lose US support, Trump announced his administration was leaving the organization due to what he said was its inadequate response to the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in China's Wuhan province late last year.