U.S. official withdrawal from WHO triggers widespread criticism

After the Trump administration made formal its intention to pull the U.S. out of the World Health Organization (WHO), it drew criticisms from bipartisan lawmakers, medical associations, advocacy organizations and allies abroad.

"Thousands of people have spoken, from health experts to heads of state and heroes on the front lines: the world needs WHO. This move signals a dangerous gamble in the midst of a pandemic we have yet to conquer, and without a viable alternative to WHO," Loyce Pace, president and executive director of Global Health Council, said in an interview with CNN.

Objection to the withdrawal is most fierce in Trump's home territory, as the coronavirus case count is unrelentingly rising and Americans are the ones most affected by the move.

A conglomerate of medical associations said the move puts the health of the country at "grave risk."

"This dangerous withdrawal not only impacts the global response against COVID-19, but also undermines efforts to address other major public health threats," heads of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians and American College of Physicians said in a joint statement.

"We call on Congress to reject the Administration's withdrawal from the WHO and make every effort to preserve the United States' relationship with this valued global institution. Now is the time to invest in global health, rather than turn back," they said.

Another 750 scholars and experts in various fields, ranging from global public health to U.S. constitutional law, and international relations, also wrote a letter to Congress and pointed out the danger the withdrawal poses to U.S. national interests and global health.

The U.S. would lose access to the WHO's global system for sharing critical outbreak data and vaccines, slow the U.S.'s ability to return to normalcy in the post-pandemic world, and jeopardize the country's ability to prepare and react to future pandemics, the letter argued. And because the U.S. was the largest WHO donor, its withdrawal means that a number of WHO programs would suffer as a result of a decline in funding.

It is widely believed that Trump has been seeking to deflect the focus on his administration's mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic by aggressively attacking China and the WHO. He has gained very little political support. Public officials and lawmakers have been persistent in condemning the departure from the WHO, with not only Democrats slashing the president's rashness but even Republicans themselves also coming out against the move.

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said if he beats Trump in the upcoming presidential race, he would rejoin the WHO on the first day of his presidency and "restore leadership on the global stage."

"Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health," he said.

Calling the withdrawal "an act of true senselessness," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it "is crippling the international effort to defeat the virus."

The departure would "interfere with clinical trials that are essential to the development of vaccines," and "make it harder to work with other countries to stop viruses before they get to the United States," said Lamar Alexander, a Republican Senator who chairs the Senate Health Committee.

The withdrawal was also formalized even as U.S. allies have been urging Washington to reconsider cutting ties with the WHO after Trump signaled the intention in May.

"In the face of this global threat, now is the time for enhanced cooperation and common solutions. Actions that weaken international results must be avoided," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said in a statement.

"In this context, we urge the U.S. to reconsider its announced decision," they said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also condemned the move and pledged intensive talks with Washington on the issue.

"We cannot tear down the dike in the middle of a storm," said Maas.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russian Foreign Ministry, said the world needs to consolidate its efforts to fight the COVID-19 outbreak, but instead, the U.S. offered its membership withdrawal to the world.

(CGTN)