U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the World Health Organization.
Germany will try to persuade the U.S. to remain in the World Health Organization, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a Day One executive order to begin U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations’ global health agency, picking up where he left off four years ago.
« The new U.S. president’s announcement to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) is a serious blow to the international fight against global health crises, » Lauterbach said, adding: « We will try to persuade Donald Trump to reconsider this decision, » reported Reuters.
Commenting further on X, Lauterbach said the news was a “catastrophe for the health of the poorest people on the planet.”
The U.S. pays approximately 20 percent of mandatory contributions to the WHO, which are weighted based on a country’s resources, amounting to $130 million in 2024. It has also been by far the biggest voluntary funder, contributing an extra $368 million in 2023. Germany is the second biggest funder, paying $229 million in voluntary contributions in 2023.
Other donors will now need to reconsider their own contributions to avoid a major drop-off in WHO spending. Thomas Steffens, Germany’s State Secretary for Health, said last week EU countries should convene to discuss the future of the WHO under Trump.