President Donald Trump’s administration is once again shaking things up on the global stage. This time, it is the World Health Organization that is in the crosshairs. On Friday, the administration announced that the United States is officially rejecting a set of changes the WHO agreed to last year regarding how the world handles pandemics. The reason They say those changes violate American sovereignty.
Although Trump began the US withdrawal from the WHO as soon as he returned to office in January, the State Department clarified that amendments agreed upon last year could still apply to the US unless formally rejected. So now, they are making it clear The US wants no part in the updated rules.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr shared a joint statement outlining their concerns. “The changes risk unwarranted interference with our national sovereign right to make health policy,” they said. “We will put Americans first in all our actions and we will not tolerate international policies that infringe on Americans’ speech, privacy or personal liberties.”
The rejected changes are part of the International Health Regulations, which are essentially a rulebook for how countries should respond together during health emergencies. The updates were agreed upon at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. The goal was to improve coordination and fairness in future health crises, especially for developing countries.
One major element was a commitment to solidarity and equity, including the creation of a new group tasked with looking at the needs of lower income countries during emergencies. According to WHO officials, the amendments were about collaboration, not control.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus responded on social media saying, “We regret the US decision to reject the amendments.” He also emphasized that the rules respect national independence. “The amendments are clear about member states sovereignty,” he said. “The WHO cannot mandate lockdowns or similar measures.”
Countries were given until Saturday to formally raise objections. Although the amendments were backed by many nations around the world, opposition has been fierce in some corners. Conservative activists and vaccine skeptics in the United Kingdom and Australia have been publicly fighting the changes despite their countries being run by more progressive governments.
The amendments came after efforts to establish a larger global pandemic treaty fell through. While most of the world finally signed on to a new treaty this May, the United States did not take part because of its exit from the WHO.
Back in May and June 2024, when President Joe Biden was still in office, the United States did participate in negotiations but refused to back the final agreement. The US said it could not support the deal because it did not include strong enough protections for American intellectual property related to vaccine development.
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken had called the amendments a step in the right direction. But that view has been reversed under Trump.
Rubio and Kennedy went further in their criticism of the WHO. They said the organization “fails to adequately address the WHO’s susceptibility to the political influence and censorship most notably from China during outbreaks.”
In response, Ghebreyesus stood by the organization and its mission. He said the WHO is “impartial and works with all countries to improve people’s health.”