Trump starts withdrawal of U.S. from WHO

Trump starts withdrawal of U.S. from WHO

President Donald Trump on Tuesday formally started the withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO), making good on threats to deprive the UN body of its top funding source over its response to the coronavirus. Public health advocates and Mr. Trump’s political opponents voiced outrage at the exit from the Geneva­based body, which leads the global fight on maladies from polio to COVID­19. After threatening to suspend the $400 million in annual U.S. contributions and then announcing a withdrawal, the Trump administration formally sent a notice to UN Secretary­General Antonio Guterres, a State Department spokesperson said. The withdrawal is effective in one year — July 6, 2021.  Joe Biden, Mr. Trump’s presumptive Democratic opponent in the November elections, vowed he would end the pullout if he won. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus responded to the news with a one­word tweet — “Together!” — as he linked to a discussion by U.S. health experts on how the move could impede efforts to prevent future pandemics