Donald Trump plans to withdraw US from WHO during second term? Report claims...

The US could withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) as early as the first day of Donald Trump’s potential second term, according to health law expert Lawrence Gostin. According to Reuters, Gostin, a professor at Georgetown University and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law, revealed, “I have it on good authority that [Trump] plans to withdraw, probably on Day One or very early in his administration.”

This move aligns with Trump’s previous criticisms of the WHO, which he accused of failing to hold China accountable during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has often described the agency as being under Beijing's influence. Critics warn that such a withdrawal could weaken global health systems and reduce the US's influence in international health initiatives.

The Trump administration had initiated a withdrawal from the WHO in 2020, but the process was reversed by President Joe Biden six months later. Trump has since nominated outspoken critics of the organisation, including vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr, for key health roles.

According to the report, experts caution that leaving the WHO could harm global disease surveillance and pandemic response, giving other nations, such as China, more influence in global health governance. "The US would lose clout, and a weakened WHO could endanger the world," Gostin warned.