US withdrawal from WHO would be 'catastrophic': expert

LONDON - Donald Trump's transition team is pushing to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the first day of the new administration, according to experts who warn of the "catastrophic" impact it would have on global health, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Sunday.

Members of Trump's team told the experts of their intention to announce a withdrawal from the global health body on the president-elect's Jan 20 inauguration, the FT said, noting that the departure would remove the WHO's biggest source of funds, damaging its ability to respond to public health crises such as the coronavirus pandemic.

US' plan to withdraw "on day one" would be "catastrophic" for global health, the FT quoted Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown Law, as saying.

Gostin said there would be "very lean years for the WHO where it will struggle to respond to health emergencies and will have to reduce its scientific staff considerably".