(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United States has withdrawn from reforms introduced by the World Health Organization (WHO) last year to enhance the global response to pandemics, part of a broader push by Washington against international regulations.
The administration of President Donald Trump formally rejected on Friday the 2024 amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) that were put in place in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy announced the move in a joint statement, saying that it aims to “prevent international bureaucrats from shaping US domestic policies.”
The legally binding amendments expanded the regulations to enhance the international response to a future pandemic.
They included the adoption of a clear definition of what constitutes a pandemic emergency and how it can be triggered, as well as efforts to improve information-sharing between countries across the world and WHO.
The amendments also called for allowing poorer nations access to medical products to “equitably address the needs and priorities of developing countries.”
The US officials took issue with several provisions in the reforms.
“Terminology throughout the 2024 amendments is vague and broad, risking WHO-coordinated international responses that focus on political issues like solidarity, rather than rapid and effective actions,” Rubio and Kennedy said in their statements.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/18/us-withdraws-from-who-pandemic-response-reforms