The State Duma linked the US withdrawal from WHO to Washington's self-interest
TheUnited States withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO) not for the sake of caring for citizens, but for selfish motives. Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma (GD) of Russia, said at the plenary session on January 21.
"Now they came out of the WHO, in this again there is their self-interest, do not think that they are worried about the health of the citizens of the world of our planet, again looking for their own benefit," he said.
Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the withdrawal of the state from the WHO. He said that during his first presidential term in 2017-2021, Washington transferred to this organization contributions to the amount of $500 million per year, and Beijing, for example, $39 million. At the same time, the population of China is many times larger than the number of residents of the United States, so such amounts of contributions are unfair.
Before that, on December 22, 2024, the Financial Times reported who Trump's team, who had not yet taken office at that time, wants to achieve the country's withdrawal from the WHO right on the day of the Republican's inauguration. It was specified that this would deprive WHO of a significant part of funding, because in 2022 and 2023, the budget of the organization was provided by Washington by 16%.
In 2020, during his previous presidential term, Trump accused WHO of ineffective fight against the coronavirus and the influence of China on the activities of the organization. On these grounds, he first announced the suspension of U.S. funding for WHO and then the country's withdrawal. A few months later, President Joe Biden, who replaced Trump, reversed that decision on the day of his inauguration.
The election for the 47th president of the United States took place on November 5, 2024. In the popular vote, Trump received 51% of the vote, while Democratic candidate Kamala Harris received 47.4% of the vote. On January 20, the Republican was inaugurated, took the oath of office and became the 47th president of the United States.
