Colombian President Gustavo Petro has criticized the completion of the official withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO), finalized last Thursday, Jan. 22. The withdrawal follows the process initiated by President Donald Trump upon taking office a year ago, at a complex moment for multilateral cooperation in public health, a move that has triggered a wave of reactions worldwide.
Petro expressed concern over the implications that this rupture could have for global health and the international system of health cooperation, stressing that the health of humanity must be placed above political or national interests. He also strongly questioned the logic of formally disengaging from an organization whose mission is to coordinate efforts against health threats that do not recognize borders.
Petro has insisted that life and health must be regarded as supreme goods that require the combined efforts of all nations, and that abandoning an entity dedicated to that task represents a lack of responsibility toward the citizens of the world. From his perspective, WHO is not merely a technical forum but a platform of solidarity where experiences, resources, and strategies converge to protect the most vulnerable populations.
His criticism is also framed within a broader defense of the multilateral system, which he considers indispensable for addressing problems that transcend borders — such as the spread of diseases, inequalities in access to vaccines and treatments, and future emerging health risks — and that cannot be resolved in isolation by any country, no matter how powerful it may be.
In this regard, the United States’ decision not only weakens WHO itself, which will lose a significant portion of its funding and operational capacity without the U.S. contribution, but also undermines trust in global cooperation, Petro warned.
Colombia’s Petro slams US withdrawal from WHO
The United States’ exit from WHO, announced by its authorities in January and made official last week, was carried out under the argument that the agency had failed to adequately manage the COVID-19 crisis and that its structure was subject to influences that did not reflect U.S. national interests.
U.S. authorities have claimed that WHO failed to demonstrate sufficient independence or effectiveness during the most critical moments of the pandemic, accusations that the organization’s director-general has rejected, calling them “false” and warning that the withdrawal could make the world — including the United States itself — less safe from a public health standpoint.
The U.S. break with WHO represents a severe blow to the international body, particularly in economic terms. In this context, the Colombian president stated that “the health of humanity, which is fundamental to life and existence, must be the greatest effort of mutual aid among states and peoples of a united humanity.” Petro added that “life comes first. The foundation of the human species is life and mutual assistance.”
For the Colombian leader, who has placed international cooperation at the core of his discourse, the United States’ departure from WHO represents a setback in the fight against disease and a blow to multilateralism that, in his view, weakens countries’ ability to respond jointly and efficiently to crises such as those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and other global public health challenges.
Creo que la salud de la humanidad, que es fundamental para la vida y la existencia, deben ser el mayor esfuerzo de ayuda entre Estados y pueblos de la humanidad unida.
La vida es lo primero.
El fundamento de la especie humana es la vida y la ayuda. pic.twitter.com/Iy16J4UcJZ
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 25, 2026
US withdrawal from WHO
WHO warned that the decision by the United States government to leave the United Nations health agency entails serious risks, not only for the U.S. itself but also for global public health. Just hours after beginning his second term on Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that formally initiated the process to withdraw the United States from WHO, an organization of which it has been a key member for decades.
The withdrawal mechanism, which is expected to last one year, should be completed next week. In light of this prospect, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus publicly expressed his deep regret over a decision that, in his view, will have wide-ranging negative consequences.
From the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Tedros said the withdrawal represents a significant loss for both the United States and the rest of the world, as it weakens collective efforts to confront shared health threats.
The WHO chief also stressed that the measure jeopardizes U.S. and global health security and recalled that Washington benefits from multiple programs, early-warning systems, and cooperation mechanisms promoted by the organization. According to Tedros, no country can consider itself fully secure in health matters without close collaboration with WHO, especially in the face of epidemics and cross-border emergencies.
The withdrawal process includes specific conditions, among them the obligation to notify the decision one year in advance and to have paid all dues corresponding to the current fiscal year.
However, the director-general indicated that the United States remains behind on its contributions for 2024 and 2025, meaning it is up to the member states to assess whether the financial requirements have been met. The impact of the decision continues to generate debate.