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The caput of the UN's wellness agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, connected Saturday (January 24, 2026) pushed backmost against Washington's stated reasons for withdrawing from the World Health Organization, dismissing U.S. disapproval of the WHO arsenic "untrue".
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that U.S. announcement this week that it had formally withdrawn from the WHO "makes some the U.S. and the satellite little safe".
And successful a station connected X, helium added: "Unfortunately, the reasons cited for the U.S. determination to retreat from WHO are untrue."
He insisted: "WHO has ever engaged with the U.S., and each Member States, with afloat respect for their sovereignty."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced successful a associated connection Thursday (January 22, 2026) that Washington had formally withdrawn from the WHO.
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They accused the agency, of galore "failures during the Covid-19 pandemic" and of acting "repeatedly against the interests of the United States".
The WHO has not yet confirmed that the U.S. withdrawal has taken effect.
'Trashed and tarnished'
The 2 U.S. officials said the WHO had "trashed and tarnished" the United States, and had compromised its independence.
"The reverse is true," the WHO said successful a statement.
"As we bash with each Member State, WHO has ever sought to prosecute with the United States successful bully faith."
The bureau strenuously rejected the accusation from Mr. Rubio and Mr. Kennedy that its Covid effect had "obstructed the timely and close sharing of captious accusation that could person saved American lives and past concealed those failures".
Mr. Kennedy besides suggested successful a video posted to X Friday (January 23, 2026) that the WHO was liable for "the Americans who died unsocial successful nursing homes (and) the tiny businesses that were destroyed by reckless mandates" to deterioration masks and get vaccinated.
The U.S. withdrawal, helium insisted, was astir "protecting American sovereignty, and putting U.S. nationalist wellness backmost successful the hands of the American people".
Mr. Tedros warned connected X that the connection "contains inaccurate information".
"Throughout the pandemic, WHO acted quickly, shared each accusation it had rapidly and transparently with the world, and advised Member States connected the ground of the champion disposable evidence," the bureau said.
"WHO recommended the usage of masks, vaccines and carnal distancing, but astatine nary signifier recommended disguise mandates, vaccine mandates oregon lockdowns," it added.
"We supported sovereign governments to marque decisions they believed were successful the champion interests of their people, but the decisions were theirs."
Withdrawal raises issues
The enactment came arsenic Washington struggled to dislodge itself from the WHO, a twelvemonth aft U.S. President Donald Trump signed an enforcement bid to that effect.
The one-year withdrawal process reached completion connected Thursday (January 22, 2026), but Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Rubio regretted successful their connection that the UN wellness bureau had "not approved our withdrawal and, successful fact, claims that we beryllium it compensation".
WHO has highlighted that erstwhile Washington joined the organisation successful 1948, it reserved the close to withdraw, arsenic agelong arsenic it gave 1 year's announcement and had met "its fiscal obligations to the organisation successful afloat for the existent fiscal year".
But Washington has not paid its 2024 oregon 2025 dues, and is down astir $260 million.
"The notification of withdrawal raises issues," WHO said Saturday (January 24, 2026), adding that the taxable would beryllium examined during WHO's Executive Board gathering adjacent period and by the yearly World Health Assembly gathering successful May.
"We anticipation the U.S. volition instrumentality to progressive information successful WHO successful the future," Mr. Tedros said Saturday (January 24, 2026).
"Meanwhile, WHO remains steadfastly committed to moving with each countries successful pursuit of its halfway ngo and law mandate: the highest attainable modular of wellness arsenic a cardinal close for each people."
