In a video statement to global health officials meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, for the 78th World Health Assembly, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. explained President Trump’s decision to back out of the World Health Organization and shared the administration’s health priorities.
“Like many legacy institutions, the WHO has become mired in bureaucratic bloat, entrenched paradigms, conflicts of interest, and international power politics,” he said. “While the United States has provided the lion’s share of the organization’s funding historically, other countries such as China have exerted undue influence over its operations in ways that serve their own interests and not particularly the interests of the global public.”
Kennedy said this became obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the WHO suppressed reports about human-to-human transmission and worked with China to back the theory that the coronavirus originated from bats.
“Not only has the WHO capitulated to political pressure from China, it’s also failed to maintain an organization characterized by transparency and fair governance by and for its Member States,” Kennedy added. “The WHO often acts like it has forgotten that its members must remain accountable to their own citizens and not to transnational or corporate interests.”
While Secretary Kennedy said cooperation on global health is still important to the Trump administration, it’s not working well under the WHO.
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“We need to reboot the whole system, as we’re doing in the United States,” Kennedy continued, noting the administration will keep working on infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness but will focus on the chronic disease epidemic.
Kennedy said the United States’ intent to withdraw from the WHO should be a “wake-up call” for global health leaders.
“We’ve already been in contact with like-minded countries and we encourage others to consider joining us,” he said.
Like many legacy institutions, the WHO has become mired in bureaucratic bloat, entrenched paradigms, conflicts of interest, and international power politics. While the United States has provided the lion’s share of the organization’s funding historically, other countries such as… pic.twitter.com/VvWbVBkb6M
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) May 20, 2025
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