The Trump administration has formally withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO), breaking ties with the international health body as the country’s death toll from coronavirus surpassed 130,000.
The US notice of withdrawal, effective from July 6 2021, was formally submitted to the United Nations secretary-general, the depository for the WHO, on Monday, a senior administration official told The Telegraph of UK.
Bob Mendez, a Democratic senator for New Jersey, revealed Congress had been notified of the decision on Tuesday as he criticised the move, pointing out that the country was still “in the midst of a pandemic.”
“Congress received notification that POTUS (President of the United States) officially withdrew the US from the @WHO in the midst of a pandemic,” Senator Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on Twitter.
The withdrawal follows through on a threat by Trump earlier this year and comes as the country continues to see tens of thousands of new coronavirus cases each day.
