The U.S. Is the Largest Contributor to the WHO

Four and a half years after Donald Trump’s first attempt of withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization, which was undone by his successor Joe Biden before taking affect, the newly inaugurated president wasted no time to take care of unfinished business.

As one of many first-day actions, Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, announcing the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO due to the organization’s alleged mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic, its “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.” Trump also criticized the organization for demanding “unfairly onerous payments” from the U.S. in comparison to other member states and from China in particular.

As our chart shows, the United States is indeed the largest contributor to the WHO. According to the latest figures published by the organization, the U.S. donated $1.28 billion to the WHO’s budget for the 2022-2023 biennium, including $218 million in assessed contributions, $1.02 billion in voluntary contributions and $47 million in contributions to a contingency fund for emergencies. China, in comparison, contributed a total of $157 million during the same period, including $115 million in assessed contributions. For the 2022-2023 period, the WHO’s total approved budget amounted to $10.4 billion, meaning that the U.S. contributed 12 percent to the approved budget. Since the budget includes a $2-billion shortfall in funds, the actual U.S. share of total WHO funding was higher at roughly 15 percent.

In an official statement, the WHO expressed its regret over the U.S. announcement to withdraw, highlighting the organization’s crucial role in protecting the health of the world’s people and the United States’ special role as a founding member and decade-long partner. “We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe,” the statement concludes.