Minister Of Health: US Out Of WHO Does Not Have Much Impact On Funding For RI

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin. ANTARA/Mecca Yumna (Mecca Yumna)

JAKARTA - Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the exit of the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) had an impact on funding for WHO, while not too much funding for Indonesia.

"We don't get too much from WHO. But WHO must have (affected)," said Minister of Health Budi when met in Jakarta, as reported by Antara, Wednesday, January 22.

Previously Donald Trump returned to office as President of the United States for the period 2025-2029. A number of his policy plans include withdrawing the US from WHO, leaving the Paris Climate Agreement, and will only recognize two sexes, namely men and women.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday expressed regret over the decision to withdraw the US from the WHO.

"WHO plays an important role in protecting the health and security of the world's people, including the American people, by dealing with the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing, and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, which often appear in dangerous places and cannot be reached by other parties", said a spokesman for Tarik Jasarevic at a UN briefing in Geneva.

Jasarevic reminded that the US was the founding member of the WHO in 1948. For more than seven decades, WHO and the US have "taken a lot of lives and protected the American people and the rest of the world from health threats."

"Together, we have ended smallpox, and together we have almost eradicated polio," he said.

According to Jasarevic, the US contributed 18 percent of the WHO budget in 2023 and is the "largest single donor."

"We have to see how this situation will develop and what the consequences are," he added.

He also hopes that the US will reconsider the decision, and look forward to a constructive dialogue to maintain a partnership between the US and WHO for the benefit of health and well-being of millions of global communities.