President-elect Biden will order the United States to join the World Health Organization, ending a withdrawal process initiated by the Trump administration.
Why does it matter: Biden is expected to overturn dozens of Trump administration policies at the beginning of his term. President Trump notified the United Nations in July 2020 of his administration’s intention to withdraw from the organization – despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
- Dr Anthony Fauci will submit comments to the WHO Executive Board as “Head of Delegation” later this week.
- WHO often leads to international health problems, such as vaccine development and polio eradication. Many countries that do not have a critical health infrastructure depend on the WHO for resources.
- Trump stopped funding to the WHO in April. He claimed that the organization was guilty of “mismanagement and coverage” of COVID-19 on behalf of China and argued that the US “has a duty to insist on full responsibility”.
- The United States has been the largest contributor to WHO – providing over 14% of its budget.
Biden posted on Twitter in July: “Americans are safer when America is committed to strengthening global health [WHO] and restore our leadership to the world stage. “