US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the World Health Organization (WHO) an institution “bureaucratically bloated” and “in its final throes.”

Kennedy said this in a video message shown to health officials gathered today at the organization’s annual assembly in Geneva.

Although the United States is the UN agency’s largest donor, its representatives announced their withdrawal from the organization on the first day Donald Trump took office as US president, leaving the WHO with a huge budget shortfall, which member states are trying to address this week through reforms.

“I call on health ministers from around the world and the WHO to see our withdrawal from the organization as a wake-up call,” he said in a video recorded for Fox News, which was later broadcast at the assembly in Geneva.

“We are already in contact with like-minded countries and we urge others to consider joining our initiative,” he added.

His speech drew no reaction from assembly members. Diplomats and ministers largely followed the speech in silence.

Like many legacy institutions, the WHO has become mired in bureaucratic bloat, entrenched paradigms, conflicts of interest, and international power politics. While the United States has provided the lion’s share of the organization’s funding historically, other countries such as… pic.twitter.com/VvWbVBkb6M

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) May 20, 2025