JAKARTA – After completing the administrative process, the United States (US) has officially withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO). This was confirmed by the US Department of Health and Human Services or Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday, January 22, 2026, local time.

The process of the US leaving the WHO has begun since the first day of the second term of President Donald Trump. However, according to the rules, the US must give a one-year notice and pay all financial obligations before officially leaving.

However, to date, the US still owes around 260 million dollars to the WHO. However, legal experts assess that it is unlikely that the US will pay the debt, and the WHO also does not have a strong mechanism to force payment.

“Legally it is very clear that the US cannot officially leave the WHO without paying its financial obligations. However, the WHO has no power to force the US to pay,” said global health law expert at Georgetown University, Dr. Lawrence Gostin, quoted from BBC, on Friday, January 23, 2026.

HHS announced that all US funding for the WHO had been stopped. All US personnel and contractors working under the WHO had also been withdrawn.

Not only that, the US also no longer participates in committees, leadership structures, governance bodies, or technical working groups sponsored by the WHO.

Even so, HHS admitted that it was still open to limited cooperation. Regarding the US’ participation in the meeting to determine the composition of next year’s flu vaccine, the government said talks on the matter were still ongoing.

Meanwhile, the decision to withdraw from the WHO was made because the US was not getting a commensurate return on the money and human resources it had given to the WHO.

The US government also highlighted the role of the WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to HHS, the WHO was too slow in declaring a global health emergency, causing the world to lose valuable time when the virus began to spread.

“During that period, WHO leadership praised China’s response, despite evidence of incomplete reporting, information suppression, and delays in confirming human-to-human transmission,” HHS wrote in its statement.

Meanwhile, despite officially separating from the WHO, the Trump administration confirmed that the US would remain a global health leader. Its new strategy has not been announced in detail, but the US is said to continue to work with other countries through bilateral agreements, non-governmental organizations, and religious groups.

However, a number of experts are concerned about the effectiveness of the US approach. According to them, the bilateral cooperation system will not be able to replace the role of the WHO.

“There is no level of partnership and oversight that is the same as if you work through the WHO,” said a former CDC official.

Previously, the Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said that the US’s withdrawal from WHO would create a situation that would be detrimental to both.

“The United States loses, and the world will definitely lose,” Tedros said some time ago.

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