The World Health Organization expresses disappointment over the US withdrawal.

The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed disappointment at the US’s formal withdrawal from the UN health body and expressed optimism that Washington will soon resume full engagement.

After a year of warnings that leaving the organization would harm public health both domestically and internationally, the US did so on Thursday.

The administration of President Donald Trump has criticized the WHO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Trump, the WHO lacked independence from the “inappropriate political influence of WHO member states” and demanded “unfairly onerous payments” from the US that were out of proportion to the amounts contributed by other, bigger nations, including China.

According to WHO, “the systems we developed and managed before, during and after the emergency phase of the pandemic, and which run 24/7, have contributed to keeping all countries safe, including the US.” The organization continues to stand by its response to the “unprecedented global health crisis” caused by the pandemic.