African Union urges Trump to revisit US exit from UN health agency

The African Union on Wednesday urged new US President Donald Trump to revisit his decision to withdraw Washington from the World Health Organization.

In a statement, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said that as a member of the world health body, the US was "crucial in shaping global WHO instruments and norms on public health security and wellbeing over the past seven decades."

Upon taking office Monday, Trump signed an executive order formalizing the US withdrawal from the UN health agency.

The executive order cited several reasons for the withdrawal, including the WHO's "mismanagement" of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises, its "failure" to implement urgently needed reforms, and its "lack of independence from undue political influence" from member states.

Mahamat recalled in a statement that the US was an "early and strong supporter" of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the African Union's agency for public health emergencies, which works with the WHO to address pandemics.

Expressing hope that the US government will reconsider its decision, Mahamat said: "Today, now more than ever, the world depends on WHO to carry out its mandate to ensure global public health security as a shared common good."

The WHO, established on Apr. 7, 1948, is an organization of 194 member states. The world health body operates in over 150 locations across six regions and is responsible for global public health.