The U.S. is a founding member and critical leader of WHO, which plays a key role protecting Americans and people around the world from malaria and other dangerous diseases
WASHINGTON — On Monday, January 20, President Trump issued an executive order to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). In response to the decision, United to Beat Malaria, a global grassroots advocacy movement against malaria, released the following statement:
“The WHO plays a critical role keeping Americans and people around the world healthy and safe from malaria and other infectious diseases,” said United to Beat Malaria’s Executive Director Margaret McDonnell. “With U.S. leadership and support, the WHO and partners have driven significant progress against malaria over the last two decades — halving death rates and saving two billion lives. Withdrawing from the WHO would threaten our investments and this hard-earned progress, increasing the risk of malaria and threatening the lives of millions of pregnant women and young children around the world, particularly in Africa, as well as Americans traveling, working and serving overseas including U.S. military personnel.”
To learn more about WHO’s broader impact on global health, read the statement from the UN Foundation’s President and CEO, Elizabeth Cousens. To ask your members of Congress to support WHO initiatives, sign the Health for US petition here.
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