Robert F Kennedy Jr and Marco Rubio announced the US was no longer a member for first time since WHO was created in 1948.
Published On 23 Jan 2026
United States Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have jointly announced the “completion” of US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The announcement on Thursday marks the first time the US has not been a member of the WHO since it joined as a founding member in 1948, though US President Donald Trump had signalled his intention to withdraw from the body in 2020 during his first term in office.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items
- list 1 of 4WHO says Ebola outbreak in DR Congo kills 31
- list 2 of 4Tuberculosis kills 1.23 million people last year, WHO says
- list 3 of 4Nearly one-third of women worldwide faced partner or sexual violence: WHO
- list 4 of 4Palestinian doctors graduate in ruins of Gaza’s destroyed al-Shifa Hospital
end of list
The joint statement from Rubio and Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic, primarily blamed the WHO’s “failures during the COVID-19 pandemic” as the reason for the withdrawal.
“Going forward, US engagement with the WHO will be limited strictly to effectuate our withdrawal and to safeguard the health and safety of the American people,” Rubio and Kennedy said, noting that all US funding for the WHO had ceased.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters earlier this month that the organisation had responded to funding shortfalls associated with the US withdrawal by making cuts.
United Nations Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Thursday that “for all intents and purposes” the US is “no longer participating in the work of the World Health Organization”, but that some “legal details will likely have to be worked out”.
“It is clear we would love to see the United States be a full participant in the work of the World Health Organization, like we want to see every country,” Dujarric said.
“If there’s an issue that is clearly, that knows no border, that doesn’t respect territorial integrity, so to speak, are health issues,” he said.
“Viruses, non-communicable diseases, all of these issues need and should be worked out with international cooperation. The World Health Organization is the place to do it,” he added.
‘Withdrawal is reckless and makes us all more vulnerable’
President Trump, who has faced criticism for his response to COVID-19, including