Attacking health

US President Donald Trump is all set to shake the world order. In January, right after assuming office, Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the World Health Organisation (WHO); the US is the WHO’s largest financial contributor, providing around 18 per cent of its funding. He accused the WHO of mishandling the Covid-19 pandemic and other global health crises, failing to act independently, and requiring unfairly large financial contributions from the US compared to other nations like China. This arbitrary decision, taken just because Trump could, has rattled the healthcare sectors across the globe. Trump has been famous for his impulsive decisions, which he announces with pride and smugly tries to berate nations dependent on the US for their funding needs. He conveniently misses that US funding is not handouts doled out to nations but that it stems from the developed world’s responsibility towards poor and developing regions -- the same countries that have been looted and plundered by the world’s elite.

Now, according to an internal memo seen last month by a foreign news outlet, the WHO is planning to cut its budget by just over one-fifth (21 per cent) for 2026-27, reducing it from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion -- a consequence of the US’s withdrawal from the organisation. People who have a firmer grip on reality fail to see how the WHO has caused damage. The Covid-19 pandemic itself is an example of how collective action can help the world fight life-threatening viruses. The near-wipeout of the polio virus is another example of the strength of world unity. In the case of Covid, Trump may need to improve his memory. A Congressional report in 2021 concluded that the Trump Administration intentionally undermined the US response to the pandemic for political gain. The report found that the White House repeatedly overruled public health and testing guidance from infectious disease experts and silenced officials to promote Trump’s political agenda. The US president should not place the blame for his shortcomings on a global institution that has been doing good work across the world.

Having said that, while Trump loves throwing tantrums, he is only the naked face of American exceptionalism. The previous Biden administration also forced most people to take off their rose-tinted glasses to see that the US, drunk on power and a superiority complex, is a friend of only those allies that serve its interest. What Trump is doing will have repercussions that will end up affecting the US. It is time for the US president to understand that his position is not suited for childish games and immature measures. Such steps cannot survive for long, and the US must make amends.