The leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that its actions in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, which the US authorities noted as one of the reasons for withdrawing from WHO, were correct.

The WHO press service issued a respective statement.

“In its statements, the United States cited as one of the reasons for its decision, ‘WHO failures during the COVID-19 pandemic’, including ‘obstructing the timely and accurate sharing of critical information’ and that WHO ‘concealed those failures,’ the WHO statement reads. “While no organization or government got everything right, WHO stands by its response to this unprecedented global health crisis.”

The press service added that the “WHO recommended the use of masks, vaccines and physical distancing, but at no stage recommended mask mandates, vaccine mandates or lockdowns.”

“We supported sovereign governments to make decisions they believed were in the best interests of their people, but the decisions were theirs,” the WHO stressed.

“The United States also said in its statements that WHO has ‘pursued a politicized, bureaucratic agenda driven by nations hostile to American interests’. This is untrue,” WHO added.

President Donald Trump’s decision in 2025 to withdraw the US from the WHO took effect on January 22. He had cited, among other reasons, the considerably more US contributions to this organization’s funding compared to other members.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had called the move a threat to the WHO and the world.

The matter of the US withdrawal from the WHO will be discussed at the next meeting of the World Health Organization Executive Board, which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from February 2 to 7.