The World Health Organization’s chief told AFP on Wednesday that he welcomed Washington’s stated intention to re-engage with the Gavi vaccine alliance, voicing hope it might also decide to rejoin the WHO.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said Washington would “re-engage” with Gavi, which brings together governments and private donors to help developing countries acquire vaccines for key diseases.
Last year, the United States pulled support for Gavi worth $1.58 billion. It vaccine-sceptic health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr claimed without evidence that there were safety concerns.
Gavi says it helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against infectious diseases including Covid-19, Ebola, malaria, rabies, polio, cholera, tuberculosis, typhoid and yellow fever.
“When they declined to finance Gavi we said that it’s a mistake, so I’m glad they are reconsidering,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told AFP.
“And the WHO membership as well — I hope they will reconsider,” he said, especially given the Ebola outbreak in Africa, because the virus “cannot be addressed without cooperation, and one of the critical organisations for global cooperation is WHO“.
“So I believe they will come back, because they benefit from it: it’s in their best interest.”
US President Donald Trump, on his first day back in office in January 2025, handed the WHO his country’s one-year withdrawal notice.
The United States was traditionally the biggest donor to the UN health agency.
“It’s not about the money,” Tedros said, adding that “we took the measures we should take, and financially we are stable now”.
“But to fight outbreaks, cooperation and solidarity is important, and so recognising that, I believe they will come back.”
Kennedy and Tedros still speak regularly, and the WHO chief said Washington was strongly committed to stopping the Ebola outbreak.
“We’re still working together,” the WHO chief said.
“We communicate at all levels, including my level; we get information from them and we share information with them.
“They’re also financing the (Ebola) response, so that’s also good, and we’re working together. And I think they understand the importance of working together.”
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