On February 14, the U.S. State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services issued a joint statement confirming that the U.S. will disburse $600 million to Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, while simultaneously terminating funding for the World Health Organization through this mechanism. The statement read: “The U.S. reaffirms it will not provide federal budget contributions to the WHO via Gavi.”
This move follows directives from President Donald Trump to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, requiring negotiations on reforms with Gavi as a condition for continued U.S. support. Republican Senator Susan Collins, who had pushed to restore funding for this global immunization program, welcomed the decision.
According to the State Department, Gavi agreed to work with its board and partner countries to replace mercury-containing vaccines with mercury-free alternatives.
This is the latest step in the prolonged rift between the Trump administration and the WHO. In 2020, Trump suspended funding to the WHO, accusing it of spreading “misinformation” from China about the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, the U.S. was the WHO’s largest donor, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of its budget.
In January 2021, President Joe Biden reversed Trump’s decision, restoring funding and halting the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO. However, on his first day in office for a second term (January 20, 2025), Trump announced the U.S. would leave the WHO and suspended contributions.
Experts say these executive orders appear driven more by ideological views than strategy. The WHO’s budget is about $3.4 billion, only a third of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s budget ($9.3 billion in 2023). WHO funds support programs to combat polio, tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, measles, and other diseases, especially in low-income countries, and respond to health emergencies in conflict zones like Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
