Geneva (AFP) – The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the United States had still not paid its dues, a necessary condition for it to withdraw from the UN agency.

Published on: 04/29/2026 - 9:05 p.m.

Just hours after his return to the White House in January 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ordering the withdrawal of the United States from the WHO. This departure has been effective since January 22, according to Washington.

However, "the American withdrawal is subject to two conditions: the first is notification, which must be made one year in advance, a condition which is also met, and the second is the payment of arrears", recalled the Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a press conference at the organization's headquarters in Geneva.

“So we hope that they will comply, but we have not received anything yet,” he said.

The United States still owes 260 million dollars (around 220 million euros) in contributions for the years 2024-2025, according to figures from the WHO.

Last January, the American Secretary of Health, Robert Kennedy Jr, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the WHO, in a joint statement, of numerous "failures during the Covid-19 pandemic" and of having acted "repeatedly against the interests of the United States".

In May 2025, Mr. Kennedy also accused the WHO of suffering undue influence from China, gender ideology and the pharmaceutical industry.

The question of American withdrawal must be discussed at the next World Health Assembly, which will bring together, as every year, all WHO member states from May 18 to 23 in Geneva.

The United States was the WHO's largest donor and several other countries also reduced their support for international aid.

Financial constraints have forced the WHO to revise downwards its 2026-2027 biennial budget from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion and to launch a vast reorganization of its operations and staff, with nearly 1,300 positions eliminated worldwide.

From now on, for the 2026-2027 budget, “our funding is 85% assured, and we have put in place a number of measures also aimed at controlling our expenses,” Raul Thomas, WHO Assistant Director-General for Institutional Functions and Compliance, explained to the press.

“And even if we know that mobilizing the remaining 15% will be particularly difficult, we are confident that we will be able, if not to raise all the funds, at least to adjust our spending to the level of the funds that we actually receive,” he said.

© 2026 AFP

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