US Orders Public Health Officials to Cease Collaboration with World Health Organization Immediately

U.S. public health officials have been instructed to immediately halt all collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

John Nkengasong, an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sent a memo to senior leaders at the agency on Sunday night, directing all staff working with the WHO to cease their collaborations and “await further guidance.”

The Associated Press obtained a copy of Nkengasong’s memo, which stated that the stop-work policy applied to “all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements, or other means, whether in person or virtual.”

The memo also specified that CDC staff are prohibited from visiting WHO offices.

President Trump issued an executive order last week to begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO), though the action did not take immediate effect.

Leaving WHO requires Congressional approval, the U.S. to meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year, and a one-year notice before the withdrawal can take place.

Additionally, the Trump administration instructed federal health agencies to halt most communications with the public through at least the end of the month.

“Stopping communications and meetings with WHO is a big problem,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a University of Southern California public health expert who collaborates with WHO on work against sexually transmitted infections.

“People thought there would be a slow withdrawal. This has really caught everyone with their pants down,” said Klausner, who said he learned of it from someone at CDC.

“Talking to WHO is a two-way street,” he added, noting that WHO and U.S. health officials benefit from each other’s expertise. The collaboration allows the U.S. to learn about new tests and treatments as well as about emerging outbreaks — information “which can help us protect Americans abroad and at home.”