WHO kicks off annual assembly amid hantavirus, Ebola crises

GENEVA

World Health Organization (WHO) member states gathered for their annual meeting in Geneva yesterday amid concern over deadly hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks and uncertainty over announced U.S. and Argentinian withdrawals.
While the rare hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that has gripped global attention is not officially on the agenda, it is expected to feature prominently in the discussions, as is the fresh Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A diplomatic source, who asked not to be identified, said it would be interesting to see how such outbreaks are used by WHO “to promote other things,” including “to pressure [the United States and Argentina] not to go.”
The meeting of the WHO’s annual decision-making assembly, which runs through May 23, comes after a difficult year for the organization. It has been weakened by the announced U.S. withdrawal and by funding cuts that have forced it to slash its budget and staff numbers.
“We are stable now and moving forward,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted at the end of April.
Diplomats and observers agreed.
The situation is “still fragile, but they’ve been successful in mobilizing most of the funds” required for the next two years, Surie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Centrer at the Geneva Graduate Institute, told AFP.
And the hantavirus crisis provided “a clear illustration of why the world needs an effective, trusted, impartial, reliably-funded WHO,” she added.
But significant divisions persist.
Continued disagreement between wealthy and developing nations has for instance blocked progress on the key missing piece of the WHO’s landmark 2025 pandemic treaty, with negotiations now expected to be extended for another year.
It also remains unclear what, if anything, would be decided on the U.S. and Argentinian announced withdrawals.
U.S. President Donald Trump, on his first day back in office in January 2025, handed the WHO his country’s one-year withdrawal notice, with Argentina soon following suit.
The WHO, whose constitution does not include a withdrawal clause, has not confirmed either withdrawal.
The United States reserved the right to withdraw when it joined the WHO in 1948, on condition of giving one year’s notice and meeting its financial obligations in full for that fiscal year.
While the notice period has expired, Washington has still not paid its 2024 or 2025 dues, owing around $260 million.
When WHO’s executive board met in January, Israel submitted a resolution to approve Argentina’s withdrawal, something countries are expected to discuss during the assembly, but not a word was said about the U.S. leaving.
Diplomats and observers indicated there was broad agreement that it would be better to maintain a grey zone around whether the U.S. was effectively out.
“We hope that it will go past quietly on the U.S.,” a European diplomat said on condition of anonymity.