Trump Administration Should Reverse Decision to Withdraw from World Health Organization

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As an organization dedicated to improving public health and saving lives in the United States and around the world, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids urges the Trump Administration and Congress to maintain U.S. membership in and funding for the World Health Organization. The WHO plays an essential role in preventing, detecting and countering global health threats, including infectious disease outbreaks that harm health and economies. These threats know no borders, and it is in the United States’ self-interest to support the WHO’s critical work.

The WHO also plays a vital role in addressing non-communicable health threats such as cancer and heart disease. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and our Global Health Advocacy Incubator are proud to work with the WHO to reduce tobacco use, prevent epidemics, improve nutrition, prevent drowning deaths, improve road safety and address other critical public health challenges. The U.S. helped found the WHO in 1948 “to promote and protect the health of all Peoples,” and its work makes people around the world, including Americans, healthier and safer. The WHO has made progress in recent years in implementing reforms to improve accountability and cost-effectiveness. Rather than withdraw from the WHO, the U.S. should work to continue these reforms and further strengthen the WHO.