United States officially leaves World Health Organization as California joins separate network

The United States has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO), a process that began a year ago. The U.S. departure leaves the global health agency with about $260 million in unpaid dues.

In a related move, the state of California announced it will join a WHO-coordinated global outbreak response network. This means California will work directly with the international health body on pandemic response, even as the federal government has left it.