As of President Donald Trump’s first day back in office Monday, the United States is leaving the World Health Organization. Some local experts think such a move might leave Spokane and the United States unprepared for the next pandemic.

The World Health Organization is shaped by its members: 194 countries that set health priorities and make agreements about how to share critical data, treatments, and vaccines during international emergencies.

This afternoon, the Associated Press is reporting that United States officials have officially ordered all public health officers to cease working at the World Health Organization just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order pulling the United States out of the World Health Organization.

WHO’s constitution, drafted in New York, doesn’t have a clear exit method for member states. A joint resolution by Congress in 1948 outlined that the U.S. can withdraw with one year's notice. This is contingent, however, on ensuring that its financial obligations to WHO “shall be met in full for the organization’s current fiscal year.”

The U.S. has traditionally been the most generous benefactor of the WHO. A Trump executive order to cut ties with the WHO could pose a threat to global public health.

More than half of Americans believe the U.S. benefits from its membership in the WHO. As of April 2024, 25% of U.S. adults say the country benefits a great deal from its membership, while about one third say it benefits a fair amount. Conversely, 38% say the U.S. does not benefit much or at all from WHO membership.

The U.S. withdrawal from WHO has seismic implications on issues like prevention of future pandemics, and the stakes are especially high for Canada.

Public health experts say the United States’ departure could cripple the WHO’s operations or leave an opening for China to assume greater control over the agency.

President Trump’s decision to pull out of the international health agency could deprive the United States of crucial scientific data and lessen the country’s influence in setting a global health agenda.

Much attention has rightly been placed on how to fill the World Health Organization’s funding gap if and when the US withdraws. Kent Buse and colleagues argue that President Trump’s idea to establish a parallel structure is equally insidious as withdrawing from WHO Some things are much better done together,

World Health Organization chief says agency already cutting back on hiring and travel with Trump withdrawal set to hit funding.