Out of WHO, the United States Apparently Deluded Rp4.3 Trillion in Dues

US President Donald Trump/PHOTO via Instagram @whitehouse

JAKARTA - The United States announced that it had completed the process of withdrawing from membership of the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency that they accused of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US also accused the WHO of failing to carry out internal reforms and having a vulnerability to "political influence" from a number of member countries.

The US move is in line with Donald Trump's election promise, and in his first speech after being inaugurated as US President on January 20, 2025, he immediately ordered the US to take steps to withdraw from the WHO.

In addition to WHO, Trump also announced the US' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change, repeating the move he made during his first term.

The US' withdrawal from the WHO reflects Trump's skepticism of multilateralism and is sure to have a major impact on global efforts to prevent and control infectious diseases.

For decades, the US has been the largest financial contributor to the WHO, a UN health organization based in Geneva and with more than 190 member countries and tasked with developing coherent global health policies.

In the process of canceling the US membership in the WHO over the past year, the Trump administration has stopped funding, withdrawn all US officials, and shifted all activities previously carried out through the WHO to a "bilateral approach" with other countries or organizations.

From now on, cooperation between the US and the WHO will be limited and only to facilitate the US withdrawal from the body.

The cancellation of WHO membership requires prior notification, which the US made last year, as well as the payment of all outstanding membership fees.

However, according to the WHO, the US has still not paid the arrears for membership fees in 2024 and 2025, which amount to 260 million US dollars or the equivalent of Rp4.3 trillion based on today's exchange rate.

For the outstanding arrears, WHO will discuss the legality or otherwise of the US withdrawal from the body at the organization's meeting in February and on other occasions.