Talk:World Health Organization

This was the first time that a member-state had formally withdrawn from the WHO.^[1][2]

I was checking the above based on the related ITNC nomination. I don't see this supported by the existing citations. Am I missing something obvious? Please quote the supporting text if I am. Thanks in advance.—Bagumba (talk) 06:53, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

I have replaced those citations with one which makes the statement more clearly. Andrew🐉(talk) 08:38, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

This article makes the opposite case. I have therefore removed the claim for now. Most sources don't talk about it. Rolluik (talk) 08:45, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

That article says that When the US joined in 1948, however, it reserved the right to exit the WHO – a stipulation other countries agreed to but did not negotiate for themselves. So, that confirms that the US is special because it was the only country with that option. The WHO's legal analysis considers the case of the seven Soviet bloc countries in the 1950s and concludes Based on the above, it could be concluded that the communications received in 1949–1950 were not regarded by the Health Assembly as effective withdrawals from Organization, and there has therefore never been an effective withdrawal from the Organization.

So, the WHO's position is that no-one has managed to withdraw yet! It reckons the US hasn't withdrawn because it hasn't settled its fees. And the other countries can't withdraw because there's no provision for them to do so. Our article should explain these issues in detail now that other countries such as Argentina are trying to withdraw.

Andrew🐉(talk) 09:05, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

I agree that the article should explain all this. It should also mention the Vienna convention/customary international law and whether that means countries who haven't made the same stipulation as the US can withdraw. Rolluik (talk) 09:50, 29 January 2026 (UTC)

The Front Page of Wikipedia today says "The United States leaves the World Health Organization." Is the first page of Wikipedia right or is this page of Wikipedia right. Rick Norwood (talk) 00:28, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

This article currently doesn't say a great deal about it:

On 20 January 2025, an executive order was signed by Trump hours after his re-inauguration, formally notifying the United Nations of his intent to withdraw the United States from the WHO for a second time. The withdrawal took effect on 22 January 2026, a year after the United Nations received Trump's notification of the withdrawal. On 23 January the U.S. state of California announced it would join WHO's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network becoming the first U.S. state to do so.

That doesn't seem to contradict the main page summary which is

The United States leaves the World Health Organization.

At ITN, I suggested a more elaborate blurb for the main page

The one year notice of the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) is complete but WHO claims that overdue fees must be paid to complete the process.

But the article would need updating to support that. Anyway, the ITN nomination has scrolled off now so if there is dispute, the issue will need raising at WP:ERRORS. Andrew🐉(talk) 09:22, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

I can't find it now, but earlier there was another Wikipedia page posted yesterday that says the front page is wrong and the US cannot withdraw without paying its fees. Anyone know which page, quoted above, said that? Rick Norwood (talk) 14:51, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

Prior content in this article duplicated one or more previously published sources. The material was copied from: https://apps.who.int/gb/bd/PDF/bd47/EN/constitution-en.pdf?ua=1 https://extranet.who.int/sph/world-health-organization-who. Copied or closely paraphrased material has been rewritten or removed and must not be restored, unless it is duly released under a compatible license. (For more information, please see "using copyrighted works from others" if you are not the copyright holder of this material, or "donating copyrighted materials" if you are.)

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Dr. Matshidiso Moeti is no longer the regional director of the Africa Regional Office of WHO. She concluded the second of her two five-year terms in February 2025 (at the WHO Executive Board meeting). In August 2024, Dr Faustine Ndugulile on Tanzania was nominated as the incoming Regional Director for Africa, to be officially appointed at the WHO Executive Board meeting in February 2025.

In November 2024, Dr. Ndugulile unexpectedly passed away. Until a new Regional Director could be nominated by the member states, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appointed Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu to serve as acting Regional Director. During the World Health Assembly in May 2025, member states nominated Mohamed Yakub Janabi, of Tanzania, as the new Regional Director. He assumed the role on June 30, 2025. ~2026-93912-7 (talk) 21:27, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

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Dr. Matshidiso Moeti is no longer the regional director of the Africa Regional Office of WHO. She concluded the second of her two five-year terms in February 2025 (at the WHO Executive Board meeting). In August 2024, Dr Faustine Ndugulile on Tanzania was nominated as the incoming Regional Director for Africa, to be officially appointed at the WHO Executive Board meeting in February 2025.

In November 2024, Dr. Ndugulile unexpectedly passed away. Until a new Regional Director could be nominated by the member states, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appointed Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu to serve as acting Regional Director. During the World Health Assembly in May 2025, member states nominated Mohamed Yakub Janabi, of Tanzania, as the new Regional Director. He assumed the role on June 30, 2025 ~2026-93912-7 (talk) 21:33, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

 Done meamemg (talk) 22:21, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

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Change the map location on the right-hand-side infobox. It is currently in Afghanistan. ~2026-13050-79 (talk) 20:24, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

Fixed. It's some sort of technical problem; I've simply removed the map as generally unhelpful. –Deacon Vorbis (carbon • videos) 22:24, 27 February 2026 (UTC)