Trump orders US exit from World Health Organization By Patrick Wingrove, Jennifer Rigby and Emma Farge January 21, 2025 The U.S. departure is likely to put at risk programs across the organization, according to several experts both inside and outside the WHO, notably those tackling tuberculosis, the world’s biggest infectious disease killer, as well as HIV/AIDS and other health emergencies. “This is the darkest day for global health I’ve ever experienced,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “Trump could be sowing the seeds for the next pandemic.”
I think the people in charge now are so used to their fancy-people lives that they don’t understand that membership in the WHO isn’t like giving to some sketch non-profit charity in order to get tax favour. This is a public safety issue.
NPR – Trump declares U.S. will withdraw from the World Health Organization January 20, 2025 By Gabrielle Emanuel The U.S. would lose easy access to critical data on outbreaks and a seat at the table when health standards are set and disease responses are decided. “This is the most cataclysmic decision,” says Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law at Georgetown University and director of WHO’s Center on Global Health Law.
My letter to reps:
Who voted for leaving the WHO? I didn’t. And what are you going to do to make up for this in public safety measures? The WHO did a lot for us. Fancy people seem to think it was just like a country club membership. Now it’s up to you to fill that gap with robust domestic public health programs because our lives are at stake.