A couple months ago, the United States formally left the World Health Organization, bringing to a close a 78-year relationship that, in the end, appears to have run short on mutual respect.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered the news with the air of a man closing a particularly tiresome account.
“On Thursday,” he stated, “the United States formally withdrew from the World Health Organization. We made this decision to reclaim our independence, protect American sovereignty, and free our public health policy from a system that no longer serves the American people.”
One might call it an amicable separation. Or, more accurately, the sort of separation where one party realizes the other has been spending their money rather freely while ignoring their concerns for several years.
The move follows an early executive order from President Trump’s second term, and it has been executed with admirable thoroughness. All U.S. funding has ceased. American staff have packed up and left.
Future dealings with the WHO will be limited to the bureaucratic equivalent of “please forward our post to this address while we do something more important.”
In the above video, Kennedy was characteristically blunt about the departure. Like the United nations, the WHO organization had drifted from its original purpose into the brackish waters of bureaucracy, conflicts of interest, and the morass of international power politics.
Covid-19
The COVID-19 period, in particular, provided what one might euphemistically describe as “a learning opportunity” — one that the WHO, by all accounts, has shown little inclination to revise. Instead, it pressed ahead with further agreements that institutionalized the previous missteps.
Kennedy also found time to address those who had rather a rough time of it during the pandemic — the families, the businesses, the ordinary citizens who discovered that unelected officials in distant time zones had rather strong opinions about their daily lives. This decision, he implied, was for them. One can almost hear the quiet satisfaction of a man who has finally cancelled a particularly onerous magazine subscription.
Of course, this does leave the WHO in something of a predicament. Losing their largest historical funder tends to constrict the bloated organization. Whether other nations will follow suit remains to be seen, though one suspects a few foreign ministers are currently staring into their afternoon tea with a thoughtful expression. In the meantime, America intends to continue leading on global health matters — refreshingly without the intermediary of an organization long past its sell-by date.
The upsides are many. Less committee meetings in Geneva, and more actual outcomes at home. In short, the United States has decided that when it comes to its citizens’ health, it would rather not take instructions from abroad.
Good for them.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church and the World Health Organization
Several Seventh-day Adventist Church COVID-19 measures, and guidelines, from 2020–2022 explicitly referenced the World Health Organization (WHO).
The SDA Church (via the General Conference and regional divisions) strongly encouraged following public health advice, including vaccination, masking, distancing, and other measures, while giving lip service to individual conscience. They often aligned with or linked to guidance from bodies like the WHO alongside national authorities (e.g., CDC).
Key Examples
North American Division (NAD) resources (2021): Their COVID-19 vaccination information page included a dedicated section with direct WHO links, such as:
WHO COVID-19 vaccines page.
WHO video on vaccines, variants, and doses.
The General Conference Reaffirmation Document. This official pro Covid vaccination statement cited a specific WHO statement (“COVID-19 Advice for the Public: Getting Vaccinated,” last updated July 14, 2021) as a reference.
General Conference and division communications (2020 onward): Early updates and health ministry pages referenced WHO declarations (e.g., the pandemic declaration) and provided WHO COVID-19 links alongside other resources. No surprise there, as the General Conference and several other SDA entities are adroitly connected to the United Nations as NGO’s and thus obligated to support UN narratives and agendas.
These references appeared in official statements, division websites (e.g., Trans-European Division, NAD), and health ministry pages, framing WHO guidance as part of broader “evidence-based public health recommendations.” The Church’s 2015 immunization statement (reaffirmed during the pandemic) supported “responsible immunization” based on science, Scripture, and Ellen G. White’s writings.
In short, while the SDA health message traditionally prioritizes biblical principles, personal choice (liberty), and healthy lifestyle practices, the SDA leadership leaned heavily on WHO and CDC materials in 2020 (giving short shrift to natural immunity and liberty of conscience).
Interestingly, the Church stands by their position, while the United States leaves the grift and agendas of the United Nation’s World Health Organization behind.
****
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes” (Psalms 118:8-9).