Fri. January 23, 2026
CHICAGO, ILL. -
Yesterday, Jan. 22, 2026, the U.S. officially left the World Health Organization. A year after the president started the process, we are now standing on our own, away from the global group that tracks diseases and sets health standards. This is a reckless decision that treats global health like a political game, and here in Chicago, we know all too well that when the government walks away from public health, it is our community that pays the price.
The administration claims this move is about "putting America first" and avoiding foreign influence. But you can't put a country first by making it blind to global threats. We just lived through a pandemic that showed us viruses don't care about borders or political parties. By leaving the WHO, we are losing our seat at the table where the next health crisis will be identified. This isn't just a "Washington problem." Chicago is a global hub with busy airports and people coming from every corner of the world. Our local health experts rely on the data and cooperation that the WHO provides. Without it, we are less prepared to protect our neighbors in Boystown, Andersonville, and across the South and West Sides.
For LGBTQ people, the WHO isn't just a bureaucracy; it is a shield. In many parts of the world, queer and trans people are hunted or denied basic medical care. The WHO sets the standards that tell doctors and governments that our lives matter and that we deserve treatment without discrimination. By pulling out, the U.S. is signaling that it no longer cares about these global protections. We are leaving a void that will be filled by countries with terrible records on LGBTQ rights. When the WHO’s influence weakens because American support is gone, life becomes much more dangerous for a trans woman in a country where her existence is illegal. We are abandoning our global family.
The most heartbreaking part of this decision is what it does to the fight against HIV. The U.S. has been the biggest funder of global HIV work, and much of that goes through WHO programs. When that money disappears, clinics close and life-saving meds like PrEP and ART stop reaching the people who need them. This hits home in Chicago. Organizations like the AIDS Foundation Chicago and Howard Brown Health have spent decades building a network to support those living with HIV. While the city and state are trying to step up to fill the gaps, they shouldn't have to. The Chicago Department of Public Health gets a massive chunk of its infectious disease funding from federal sources. When the federal government retreats from the global stage, it often starts cutting the same programs here at home. We are already seeing attempts to slash domestic HIV prevention, and leaving the WHO is just the latest step in a broader plan to dismantle the progress we've made.
Decisions made in the Oval Office have real consequences on Halsted Street and around the globe. Walking away from the WHO is a "penny-wise and pound-foolish" move that ignores the reality of how modern health works. It endangers our health, our security, and the lives of the most vulnerable members of our community. We’ve survived government neglect before. We remember the early days of the AIDS crisis when we had to take care of our own because no one else would. We are resilient, but we shouldn't have to fight our own government just to keep the world safe. This is a step backward that we simply cannot afford.
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