Recently, the ATS joined global health organizations including Global Health Council and the Better World Campaign in a letter urging Congress to ensure that the U.S. maintains its membership and active engagement, including funding, with the World Health Organization (WHO). Recently, President Trump indicated that he would withdraw the U.S. from WHO membership due to what he termed the global agency’s failures over the COVID pandemic and action on structural reforms. The WHO has expressed openness to reform and the World Health Assembly recently agreed to take on an independent investigation into the WHO’s response to COVID-19.

The letter states, “The U.S. has long recognized the unparalleled capabilities of the WHO to help save lives, improve global disease detection, and coordinate a global public health response. As a result, the U.S. has consistently been the largest donor to the WHO.” The letter continues, “The WHO’s efforts strengthen America’s health security and economic interests, because healthy countries are stable countries. Therefore, we, the undersigned organizations, urge Congress to reject Administration’s efforts to terminate the relationship between the U.S and WHO and to instead fully fund its work."