US starts formal withdrawal from WHO

US has begun formal processing for withdrawing from the World Health Organization after the country’s President Donald Trump repeatedly slammed the organization for alleged misinformation about the spread of COVID-19.

CNN citing multiple US officials reported that Trump has sent a notice to the Congress and the United Nations that it is officially withdrawing from the agency.

The withdrawal would take effect in July 2021, the report said, adding that it prompted criticisms among bipartisan lawmakers, medical associations, advocacy organizations, and allies abroad.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden vowed Tuesday to reverse the decision “on (his) first day” if elected.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres confirmed that the UN has received the notice from the US of “its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, effective on 6 July 2021.”

He said that the Secretary-General, in his capacity as depositary, is in the process of verifying with the World Health Organization whether all the conditions for such withdrawal are met.

Those conditions “include giving a one-year notice and fully meeting the payment of assessed financial obligations.”

The US is the WHO’s largest contributor, providing more than $400m per year.

It comes the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 has risen to 3,054,699 with 132,300 deaths and 953,420 recoveries in the United States.