European health authorities urge greater WHO support in response to potential withdrawal of the US. The heads of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and five other European national health institutions published an open letter in the prestigious Lancet journal. The letter emphasised that European nations must swiftly assume a greater role within the WHO. US President Donald Trump announced at the end of January that the country would withdraw from WHO at the beginning of 2026. The US has been WHO’s largest financial contributor and supplies hundreds of experts to the organisation. Despite its global mandate, WHO operates on an annual budget of approximately $3 billion, which remains modest in international terms. A stronger European commitment to WHO would \”stabilize the organization\” and ensure \”that its values continue to shape global health policy,\” the letter stated. The appeal was co-signed by the national health Institutions of Norway, Denmark, France, Austria, and Portugal. The U.S. withdrawal would leave a substantial financial and expertise gap, the signatories noted. It also carries out vital public health initiatives in less-developed countries, such as maternal health programs and childhood vaccinations.
