Biden officials touted the steps they took to halt or prevent disease threats, but some public heath researchers offer a more mixed assessment of the administration’s efforts.
Experts have also cautioned that withdrawing from the organization could weaken the world’s defenses against dangerous new outbreaks.
President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders on the first day of his second term in office on Monday, and among them were motions to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the WHO, and the pact to tax large multinationals adds to the president’s expansionist rhetoric and his conviction that ‘everybody needs’ the United States
Among President Trump’s flurry of executive orders was one reviving a pandemic-era pledge: to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization. Trump signed an order in the Oval Office to withdraw the U.
The US is the largest financial contributor to the WHO, this withdrawal could jeopardise vital health programs globally.
Experts say the withdrawal will diminish the agency's ability to provide public health support, while the WHO said it "hopes the US will reconsider".
Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has criticized Trump's inauguration speech, the executive orders he signed, and more.
After four years in the White House – and a half-century in Washington – President Joe Biden has said farewell.
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