The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Executive Director of Health Emergencies, Dr Mike Ryan, has said that the United States’ planned withdrawal from the WHO "will have an impact" but that he and colleagues are working to reduce its scale.
"I would rather not be filling gaps that have been left by countries who withdraw resources. But if that's what we have to do, that's what we have to do," Dr Ryan told Prime Time.
Speaking from Uganda, where he is responding to an Ebola outbreak, Dr Ryan said upon hearing the news of the US intended withdrawal "my first reaction was disappointment. Then my second reaction was, ‘what’s this going to mean for containing outbreaks? What’s this going to mean for global security? What’s this going to mean for global safety?’"
The US withdrawal will take a year to come into effect, but represents a significant financial blow to the WHO, as the country contributes roughly 20% of its budget.
The announcement by US President Donald Trump has already triggered cost-cutting measures within the organisation, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
President Trump blamed the WHO’s "mishandling" of the Covid-19 pandemic and a lack of reforms, among other issues, for the withdrawal.
"World health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It's not going to happen anymore," he said at the signing of an executive order on the withdrawal.
"We should be very sad to think that they would leave, but the 193 other (countries) will get on with the business of protecting health, providing health, and promoting health."
— RTÉ Prime Time (@RTE_PrimeTime) February 4, 2025
WHO Executive Director Dr Mike Ryan reacts to news that the US is withdrawing from the WHO. pic.twitter.com/jvY6lDBi9W
"A good chunk of what they spend is on voluntary contributions," Dr Ryan told presenter Sarah McInerney, "as in contributions they make to specific programmes like my programme - in surveillance, in biosecurity, in laboratory science, but also in terms of humanitarian and health emergency contributions - so yes, it will have an impact, there's no question, but it is what it is."
"The reality is the United States can make sovereign decisions to do what it does," he said.
"We would like the United States to reconsider," he added, saying "the United States is not leaving a building, they’re leaving 193 other countries who have agreed over the last 75 years on how to end health-related suffering all around the world."
"The 193 will get on with the business of protecting health, of providing health, and promoting health," he said.
Dr Ryan, a key member of the WHO leadership team, was born in Sligo and raised in Mayo. He became the global face of the WHO’s fight against Covid-19 during the pandemic, and is responsible for leading the organisation’s work on public health and infectious diseases.
Uganda outbreak waiver possibility
Dr Ryan is currently in Uganda leading a WHO team trying to prevent an Ebola outbreak from spreading beyond specific parts of the country.
He also said news emerged at an ambassadorial meeting hosted by Ireland’s ambassador in the country over the last 24 hours that some form of US funding would remain in place for battling the spread of the disease.
"We've been looking at how we can shore up the funding for key parts of the response in support of the government. The good news is today, what I understand, and I can't confirm it, that the US government have created a waiver around this outbreak here and have committed funding to supporting the outbreak response," he said.
"It may not come through WHO, but we're very glad that they may be issuing a waiver in this particular case, which is an outbreak that has ramifications elsewhere," he added.
