The U.N. agency has received a formal request from Washington to withdraw next year as Trump ordered a halt to funding for the WHO.

The United States is about to officially withdraw World Health Organization (WHO) January 2026 The United Nations agency received an official letter from US President Donald Trump this week.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday that the withdrawal was now underway after Trump pledged on Monday, his first day in office, that the U.S. would withdraw from the World Health Organization and halt future funding for the organization.

“I can confirm that we have now received a letter from the United States regarding withdrawal from the WHO. It is dated January 22, 2025. It will take effect one year from yesterday, January 22, 2026,” Ha K said.

Trump also ordered Secretary Rubio and the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget to “pause any future transfer of U.S. government funds, support, or resources to the WHO.”

Washington recalled all U.S. government personnel working with the WHO and ordered them to stop participating in WHO-led negotiations for a global treaty to deal with the pandemic.

With the United States withdrawing, the World Health Organization will lose its most important financial backer.

The United States contributes about 18% of the organization’s funding, with contributions of approximately $261 million between 2024 and 2025. China followed closely with a donation of US$181 million. Experts say the loss of the World Health Organization’s largest donor will affect the global health agency’s ability to respond to major crises from tuberculosis to HIV/AIDS and global pandemics.

Trump accuses WHO of mishandling COVID-19 pandemic during his first term and asks WHO Exit an organization July 2020.

The attempt to roll back was thwarted when Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, who immediately withdrew the order upon taking office.

Many health experts blame Trump and his administration for botching the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization issued a statement expressing regret over the U.S. announcement of its withdrawal, noting that its work “plays a vital role in protecting the health and safety of people around the world, including Americans.”

“We hope the United States will reconsider, and we look forward to a constructive dialogue to sustain the partnership between the United States and WHO to benefit the health and well-being of millions of people around the world,” the WHO said.

Jean Galbraith, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, said that the United States joined the World Health Organization in 1948 through a joint resolution of the House and Senate, which gave Trump the opportunity to unilaterally cancel the United States without congressional approval. Membership leaves questions.

Trump’s Republican Party controls the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, but the withdrawal could still be challenged in court, legal experts said. “Trump made a unilateral decision to withdraw from the WHO. But we joined the WHO in 1948 by an act of Congress. Trump needed congressional approval to withdraw,” said Lawrence, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University Gostin wrote on social media.

“Without Congress and the courts, his decision would have been disastrous. As director of the WHO center, I am considering filing a lawsuit,” Gostin said.

Trump unilaterally decided to withdraw from the WHO. But we joined the World Health Organization in 1948 by act of Congress. Trump needs congressional approval to withdraw. His decision was too disastrous to be made without Congress and the courts. As director of the World Health Organization Center, I am considering filing a lawsuit.

— Lawrence Gostin (@LawrenceGostin) January 21, 2025