Covid-19 wreaked havoc in all facets of our lives, including the death of many Americans.. It also exposed the sad state of affairs in our healthcare system that juggled poorly through these difficult times. The only upside is that it caught the attention of officials, and former President Trump decided to withdraw from WHO, which explicitly failed in containing the coronavirus.

Withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) can be justified by multiple factors. The inability of WHO to counter any large-scale health crisis completely defeats its purpose and this was made abundantly clear in the pandemic. If enough measures had been taken earlier, it could have saved millions of lives and prevented the agony for hundreds of millions more. If it were an effective body, the world could have survived without a complete halt in every sphere of life. Regrettably, the WHO failed to bring forth any significant reforms.

The US provided for 15% of the budget for WHO for the years 2019-2020. With WHO out of the picture, the United States can effectively redistribute these funds. Instead of relying on an incompetent and biased system, the US can come up with its own organization to reach the far and distant nations. This new organization would be more efficient, and the United States would be able to reach its goals of providing healthcare services to the poorest of nations. Global health is still a priority for the United Nations and some hard decisions must be taken to ensure it.

With the United States in control of funding by itself, the government can divert some of this funding for domestic issues. Without a stable healthcare system at home, there is no point in going out of the way and volunteering. One must put out the fire at home first and then move ahead to help others.

Some circles insist on giving WHO more time to rectify its mistakes, but it has become evident that every passing day only further exposes the incompetence of WHO. Withdrawal from WHO is not only for the greater good of the United States but also for all the other nations that will benefit from the alternative model. Hence, the United States should withdraw from the WHO completely.