President Trump, the WHO, and I

On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). This withdrawal is, in the words of Lawrence Gostin, a global public health expert and Georgetown University professor, “a grievous wound to world health, but a still deeper wound to the US.”

The WHO plays a crucial role in global health, both in ways that are visible and ways that are less apparent. Some less visible functions include:

• Detecting, monitoring, and responding to health threats and pandemics (e.g., COVID-19).
• Gathering and analysing global health data to detect emerging issues and guide interventions.
• Setting standards and developing guidelines to help governments and organizations respond to health crises.
• Providing essential medical commodities such as vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases.
• Coordinating humanitarian response efforts, crucial for aiding populations affected by crises.
• Offering technical assistance to governments, ensuring health challenges are met with informed strategies.

Without US support, the WHO will face financial strain and its ability to fulfil these functions will be significantly weakened. The global community, in turn, will suffer from less coordinated responses to health threats and a reduced capacity to combat disease.

Beyond the immediate global health implications, this decision has created another problem much closer to home. I have been translating medical documents for many years now, including many showcasing the amazing work carried out by WHO—eradicating polio, combating malaria, promoting vaccinations, and advancing childhood cancer treatment. The immense coordinated effort behind each of these initiatives struck me, and I was proud to contribute, even in a small way, to a global mission dedicated to saving lives.

Now, with WHO projects in jeopardy and increasing reliance on automated translation technologies, the volume of specialised medical translation is dwindling. Budgets for communication, research dissemination, and multilingual outreach are shrinking. So, I ask myself rhetorically, is my livelihood now at risk due to a decision made thousands of miles away in Washington?  Rather disheartening. I have spent years working on materials that highlight the WHO’s essential contributions to fighting disease, strengthening health systems, and coordinating emergency responses. To see these efforts jeopardised, and to feel the personal impact of this political decision, is something I never anticipated.

I remain confident, however, that the void left by the US departure will be filled. The work of the WHO—and of those who translate it—must go on because global health depends on it.