In an Executive Order signed on 20th January, on the day of the Presidential Inauguration, President Biden has taken steps for the United States to “engage with and strengthen the World Health Organization (WHO)” and pledged to provide US leadership on global health and security. In a letter, sent on the same day, to His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, President Biden wrote:
“This letter constitutes a retraction by the Government of the United States of the letter dated July 6, 2020, notifying you that the Government of the United States intended to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), effective July 6, 2021. The United States intends to remain a member of the World Health Organization. The WHO plays a crucial role in the world’s fight against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic as well as countless other threats to global health and health security. The United States will continue to be a full participant and a global leader in confronting such threats and advancing global health and health security.”
US experts I spoke to were elated and relieved at this announcement, since it is incredibly important for the US (which is really struggling with their pandemic response, having just crossed 400,000 deaths from Covid-19), the WHO (which has also had a hard time during this crisis), and for the entire field of global health.
Last year, on 29th May, President Trump had announced: “We will be today terminating our relationship with the WHO and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs.” As compared to the anguished and incredulous reactions which I had summarized at that time, today’s reactions were a mixture of elation, relief, and hope for the future.
Relief and more relief
"It's been an exhausting year for us, made even more challenging by all the fights for equity and solidarity around Covid-19,” said Loyce Pace, President of Global Health Council, and member of the Biden Covid-19 task force. “We're hardly at the end of this road but coming back to the table globally at WHO and elsewhere is a heartening mile marker. Now the work begins,” she added.
“I’m quite relived we have rejoined the WHO,” said Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. “I never fully appreciated American leadership in global health until it was gone. So glad it’s back, now for some damage control,” he added.
“It’s a breath of fresh air,” exclaimed Syra Madad, a Senior Director of special pathogens for NYC Health. “It’s the beginning of bringing back public health diplomacy and showing, not telling, that the US will be collaborative and cooperative to combat this pandemic head on with our international public health partners,” she added.
“The rejoining of the WHO is one of many actions that Biden took that has both symbolic and real importance to our nation,” said Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Brown University. “Public health knows no boundaries, and it is foolish to imagine that we can fight a global pandemic - or any health problem - alone. By rejoining the WHO, Biden showed, first, that he truly believes in unity and collaboration; second, that he puts truly values science; third, that he understands that the health of our country is intertwined with that of the world,” she added.
“I’m relieved, mostly,” said Maimuna Majumder, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. “We should’ve never left. I think leaving is at least partly to blame for the amount of mistrust some subsets of the American people have developed with respect to the WHO, which has been especially challenging to combat in the middle of a pandemic,” she added.
“I’m elated!” exclaimed Steffanie Strathdee, a global health professor at UC San Diego. “WHO has its issues but we need to hit the reset button with a united front. We need to reinforce the foundation of our global health architecture if we are going to prevent the next pandemic. Covid-19 was the first pandemic of the 21st century but it won’t be the last,” she said.
“The US has returned to the global table,” exclaimed Gavin Yamey, a global health professor at Duke University. “One of the many tragedies of the Trump administration was its turn away from multilateralism and towards nationalism. It’s symbolically so powerful to see President Biden reinstate these ties in his first day in office. It’s similarly powerful to see that Anthony Fauci will lead the US delegation to the WHO’s executive board meeting this week,” he elaborated.
“I’m very relieved that there will now be a focused response to the pandemic in the US and rejoining the WHO will be a critical part of that,” said Helen Jenkins, an epidemiology professor at Boston University. “Hearing Biden’s speech was a breath of fresh air. I think many people had forgotten what leadership sounds like,” she said.
Benefits of global cooperation
US re-engaging with WHO is beneficial to America, and the rest of the world. “We can benefit from collaborations and understand what other countries have learned in the fight against Covid-19,” said Krutika Kuppalli, Assistant Professor Division of Infectious Diseases at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
“Being a member state of WHO is utterly essential,” said Alexandra Phelan, an Assistant Professor at Georgetown Global Health Science & Security. “It is a recommitment to multilateralism but it's even more than that: WHO needs someone going into fight for them, someone willing to fight the big political battles which a thoughtful White House can be incredibly helpful for,” she elaborated.
“We’ve continued to work with our WHO colleagues on coordinating Covid-19 responses and much more, like saving the lives of moms and babies around the world,” said Laura Hoemeke, a global health consultant and adjunct professor at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. “Now we no longer have to pretend that we’re not working with our WHO colleagues,” she added.
“It's not going to magically fix the pandemic but I think it's good,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virology expert at Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security. “It shows we're contributing to global solutions, we're signaling that we want to collaborate on global health, not just nationalizing our response,” she emphasized.
“Rejoining WHO is critically important, particularly as a horrible pandemic is affecting the globe. WHO is the one global public health agency and the US had an important role to play in being a partner in its response,” said Carlos del Rio, Executive Associate Dean for Emory University at Grady Hospital.
“By rejoining WHO, US can support the organization responsible for guiding public health guidelines globally,” said Nathan Lo, an infectious diseases expert at UCSF.
“I’m truly happy to see that the Biden-Harris administration has prioritized rejoining the WHO as it not only signals our investment in science and public health, but also global partnerships critical for responding to pandemics and building sustainable programs like genomic surveillance and pandemic prevention,” said Saskia Popescu, an Assistant Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
Hope for global health
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the world’s health and economy. But even worse is the massive failure in how countries have shown extreme nationalism in not sharing information and supplies (e.g. vaccines). A recent report by the Independent Panel noted that “despite the myriad shining examples on every continent of human ingenuity in response to the virus, we have failed in our collective capacity to come together in solidarity to create a protective web of human security.”
By rejoining WHO, America is sending a clear signal that global solidarity matters. Especially during a pandemic that requires nothing short of complete global cooperation and real compassion.
“Engaging fully with the WHO, and other world bodies, is part of the social contract that nation states have to abide by. It is the core of multilateral engagements in global health,” said Shailey Prasad, a global health professor at the University of Minnesota. “I am excited that the US will continue to be part of the WHO. Particularly now, in the throes of the pandemic we need this. I also sincerely hope that we increase the voluntary contribution to the WHO to help combat the pandemic and address other health issues that have unfortunately taken a back seat,” he expanded.
I want to end this piece with reactions from Yara Changyit-Levin, a high schooler who is actively engaged in global health advocacy, and has published calls for global solidarity. “For too long, we've had an administration that ignored and worsened the crises in climate, health, and inequality,” she said. “So, I'm really excited to see my country's government hit the ground running by re-entering and strengthening global partnerships. I truly believe in the sustainable development goals, and we need international cooperation and global solidarity to make it happen. I’m also encouraged to see signals that as Americans, we're going to work with other countries while we also pass major legislation targeting climate change, poverty, and racism at home,” she added.
The whole world needs America to do exactly that - tackle inequities, racism and the pandemic at home, while also showing global solidarity and leadership. Along with these experts, I’m hopeful that today, the day of the Presidential Inauguration, signals the re-entry of US on the global health stage.
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