NEW YORK — U.S. health officials have been instructed to immediately cease collaboration with the World Health Organization.
In a memo to senior CDC leadership on Sunday, John Nkengasong directed that all staff involved in WHO collaborations must halt their activities pending further instructions.
Experts expressed surprise at the abrupt halt, citing setbacks to ongoing efforts to investigate and contain Marburg virus and mpox outbreaks in Africa, as well as emerging global health threats. This action also coincides with ongoing monitoring of outbreaks among U.S. livestock.
The Associated Press reviewed Nkengasong’s memo, which mandates the suspension of all CDC staff engagement with the WHO, encompassing technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements, and other forms of interaction, both in-person and virtual. The memo also prohibits visits to WHO offices.
President Trump’s recent executive order initiating the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO did not trigger immediate action. Formal withdrawal requires Congressional approval, fulfillment of the U.S.’s financial obligations for the current fiscal year, and a one-year notice.
His administration also instructed federal health agencies to suspend most public communication until at least the end of the month.
“Halting communication and meetings with the WHO is extremely problematic,” stated Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a USC public health expert collaborating with the WHO on sexually transmitted infections.
Klausner, who learned of the directive from a CDC source, commented, “The expectation was a gradual withdrawal. This has completely taken everyone by surprise.”
He emphasized the reciprocal nature of the WHO-CDC relationship, highlighting the mutual exchange of expertise. This collaboration enables the U.S. to access crucial information on new tests, treatments, and emerging outbreaks, information “vital for protecting Americans both domestically and internationally,” Klausner explained.
The CDC details nearly 30 personnel to the WHO and provides millions of dollars in funding via cooperative agreements. The U.S. agency boasts some of the world’s leading experts in infectious diseases and public health threats, with daily contact between the two agencies regarding health risks and mitigation strategies.
The suspension of collaboration isn’t the only global health impact of Trump’s executive orders. Last week, the president froze funding for PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).
The anti-HIV program, credited with saving 25 million lives, including 5.5 million children, since its inception under President George W. Bush, is affected by a Trump administration freeze on foreign aid lasting at least three months.
PEPFAR provides HIV medication to over 20 million people, and halting its funding “will stop their HIV treatment,” stated International AIDS Society President Beatriz Grinsztejn. “If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”
A U.S. health official confirmed the CDC’s cessation of WHO collaboration, speaking anonymously due to authorization constraints.
A WHO spokesperson directed inquiries regarding the withdrawal to U.S. officials.
Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Similarly, CDC officials did not respond to the AP’s request to interview Nkengasong.
—AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report.