GENEVA: The United States has still not paid off its membership fee arrears at the World Health Organisation, the WHO chief said on Wednesday, with Washington’s intention to leave conditional on paying up.

The UN health agency’s director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he hoped the United States would come up with the money they owe a self-imposed condition for quitting the organisation.

President Donald Trump, on his first day back in office in January last year, handed the WHO his country’s one-year withdrawal notice.

“In terms of the arrears from the US, the withdrawal is conditioned with two things,” Tedros told a press conference with ACANU, the UN correspondents’ association.

“One is notification one year in advance, which is actually met. And the second is paying the arrears, so we hope they will do that, but we haven’t received anything yet.”

Tedros said there were “no signals” indicating that Washington would come up with the cash.

But he added: “To be honest, it’s not about the money.

“The issue is health security needs universality and the US, by withdrawing, makes itself unsafe and makes the rest of the world unsafe. So it’s lose-lose.

“Where there is a vacuum, the virus wins. It’s as simple as that. It’s global cooperation and solidarity which is the best response.”

No withdrawal clause

Though the US flag no longer flies outside the WHO headquarters in Geneva, the decision-making body the annual assembly of member states ­ will decide upon the US withdrawal when it meets from May 18 to 23.

The WHO constitution does not include a withdrawal clause.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2026