President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The US will leave the United Nations health agency in 12 months and will stop all financial support for its work.
Trump criticized the WHO for failing to act independently from the "inappropriate political influence of WHO member states" and for requiring "unfairly onerous payments" from the US compared to countries like China.
"World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It's not going to happen anymore," Trump said as he signed the order during his first day back in the White House.
The US is the WHO's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its funding.
Trump started the process of quitting the WHO in his first presidential term, but President Joe Biden was able to stop the process when he took office in January 2021.
Trump sign executive orders to withdraw from Paris Climate Accord
Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders during his presidential parade at Capitol One Arena.
It included a withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change.
This decision marks a defiant rejection of global efforts to combat climate change as catastrophic weather events intensify worldwide.
According to the agreement's rules, exiting would take about a year after submitting formal notice to the United Nations.
Trump also signed the notice to the UN, informing the world body of the US withdrawal.
In his earlier remarks, Trump said the US, the world's top oil and gas producer, will expand drilling.
"Now we are going to drill baby drill," he said.
Source: DW
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
