US pulls out of World Health Organization
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In his first 24 hours back in office, US President Donald Trump has signed a range of executive orders, one of which removes the US from the World Health Organization. He claims the agency mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside other global health crises. We hear from the WHO and a Republican congressman about what this withdrawal means for the public body’s funding.
Also in the programme: we speak to one of 1,500 people now pardoned after the January 6 Capitol attack; and over to Japan, where a new device is helping pianists play faster.
(Photo: US President Donald Trump signs numerous executive orders, 20th January 2025. Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service. I'm Celia Hatton, coming to you |
| 0:08.0 | live from London. It's the first full day of the 47th President Donald Trump's time in office |
| 0:15.1 | and the first full day of reaction to the initiatives he's already put into place. It's no surprise to many that Mr. Trump |
| 0:22.1 | came out swinging with pronouncements that he wants to retake the Panama Canal and also declaring |
| 0:28.3 | an emergency to stop migration across the United States southern border. But it was perhaps |
| 0:34.5 | the president's moves to withdraw the United States |
| 0:37.5 | from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement |
| 0:40.9 | that have sparked the biggest international reaction. |
| 0:44.5 | We'll be speaking about the climate agreement a little later in the program. |
| 0:48.5 | For now, we'll focus on the WHO. |
| 0:51.1 | Here's the moment Donald Trump signed the executive order. |
| 0:55.0 | Was withdrawing from the World Health Organization, sir? |
| 0:57.6 | Oh, that's a big one. So we paid $500 million to World Health when I was here, and I terminated it. |
| 1:05.9 | China with 1.4 billion people. We have 350 to pay. |
| 1:11.6 | We have, nobody knows what we have because so many people came in illegally. |
| 1:14.6 | But let's say we have 325. |
| 1:17.6 | They had 1.4 billion. |
| 1:19.6 | They were paying 39 million, we were paying 500 million. |
| 1:23.6 | It seemed a little unfair to me. |
| 1:25.6 | So that wasn't the reason, but I dropped out. |
| 1:28.3 | They offered me to come back for 39 million. |
| 1:31.3 | In theory, it should be less than that, but, you know. |
... |
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