The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization.
WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go.
The United States was a founding member of WHO in 1948 and has participated in shaping and governing WHO’s work ever since, alongside 193 other Member States, including through its active participation in the World Health Assembly and Executive Board. For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats. Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication. American institutions have contributed to and benefited from membership of WHO.
With the participation of the United States and other Member States, WHO has over the past 7 years implemented the largest set of reforms in its history, to transform our accountability, cost-effectiveness, and impact in countries. This work continues.
We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.
Source: World Health Organization International, Geneva
Whenever decisions like this are made, I ask myself “Who will profit from it?”
President D. Trump signed yesterday a nice amount of Executive Orders, many of which indicate that the United States will no longer participate in any efforts to hold or even accept the reality of climate change. Many of these orders indicate that we no longer care about our own environment either. We are as of today, no longer a member of the World Health Organization, which saddens me, and we will also pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, which united 198 countries (states) to fight climate change with the goals to:
- Limit temperature rise ‘well below’ 2 C. …
- First universal climate agreement. …
- Helping poorer nations. …
- Publishing greenhouse gas reduction targets. …
- Carbon neutral by 2050?
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Do I feel silly now when I fill my recycled, reusable water bottles with filtered water from our faucet? No, I do not feel silly, rather the contrary, I am more determined than ever to make a difference, even if it seems foolish in the eyes of many. I don’t care about the egg prices, I can always eat fewer eggs, but I do care about if the eggs I eat are healthy, preferably even organic.
Other environmental executive orders, all signed yesterday:
- Attempt to reverse Mr. Biden’s ban on offshore drilling for 625 million acres of federal waters.
- Begin the repeal of Biden-era regulations on tailpipe pollution from cars and light trucks, which have encouraged automakers to manufacture more electric vehicles.
- Roll back energy-efficiency regulations for dishwashers, shower heads and gas stoves.
- Open the Alaska wilderness to more oil and gas drilling.
- Restart reviews of new export terminals for liquefied natural gas, something the Biden administration had paused.
- Halt the leasing of federal waters for offshore wind farms.
- Eliminate environmental justice programs across the government, which are aimed at protecting poor communities from excess pollution.
- Review all federal regulations that impose an “undue burden” on the development or use of a variety of energy sources, particularly coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, hydropower and biofuels.
And now back to my original question. Who will profit from it? In my humble opinion, the country will not profit from it and neither will the average American. All these laws, rules and regulations were put in place to grant us (all) clean water and clean(er) air. Who will profit are the millionaires and billionaires, the CEOs and owners of corporations.
I will continue to fill up my water bottles.
70+ Million Americans knew this would happen and they voted for it anyway. I hope they feel happiness now, I damn sure don’t (stop the cursing woman).
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And within one day all my hopes were shattered.
It is going to be a LONG four years… or longer. We do the best we can with what we are faced with… I have my water bottle too.
I am afraid so. It already feels like a lifetime.
Here we go……
It is surreal. It’s like watching an overnight coup in some small third world country, and wondering how is that even possible.
How is it possible that one person can make such huge decision for the while country? Is US President a king now?
US government has been under influence of corporations for years, but at least there were still some rules and norms and trying to do the right thing now and then. Now we are full blown oligarchy with a tyrant/cult leader in charge.
End of US as we know it
You put in words what I feel. I watched it on TV so often, happening in other countries and I always felt sorry for the people who lived there. I was always sure this could never happen where I live.
Sigh…. Now I know how it feels.
I hope the next president is not so foolish. It may take more work to repair the damage this time. It will be more of an uphill battle because those that profit will not willingly go back to pre-trump conditions. There will be lawsuits and accusations and by the time those are all straightened out it will be 2032 and it will whiplash us all back.
I am not sure there will be another election in the US. I honestly think we have put something in place that can’t be undone so quickly.
This. 100% this. We will all be distracted with the inaneness of so many things he is doing and will do in the next four years and meanwhile the work on climate change reduction will come to a halt.
So true. The distractions are so obvious while the strings are pulled in the back and the big stuff, so often doesn’t even make the headlines.
Thank you for this dose of reality, as scary as it is. I don’t get why any president has this much power. I guess it’s up to individuals and private groups to do what we can. We will keep recycling, reusing, and reducing, maybe boycotting. But damn, it’s scary.
I don’t get this either. I wish we could vote on the subjects more than giving one person, or one party the ultimate power.
It’s not easy to watch, Bridget. It flies in the face of everything we believe in.
It’s so against my believes, it leaves me kind of speechless.
🤯🤬🤬😡🥵
I feel your pain. It is so hard to express how i feel about what is happening at present. Power and Greed are very dangerous when in the hands of a man like Trump
I have a had time expressing it as well. I agree with everything you wrote.
I feel great pity for all of the USA and fear for all the world.
I will continue to recycle my little heart out. And reduce and reuse. I can’t do everything but I can certainly do my part.
He’s an axxxxxx. You fill in the letters. ALL he cares about is money and how to make more money, and if he has to please corporate billionaires to make more for himself he will. He doesn’t care one bit about anything else in our country and all those fools that voted for him (other than the rich ones) will not end up with anything better in their lives for having sacrificed their country that they supposedly love.
I watched part of the inauguration yesterday and the first thing I noticed were all the billionaires and millionaires and I could not help wonder why they are there? Knowing that all of them, including the Washington Post (Benzo), Zuckerberg (Facebook) have adjusted their sail to the ‘new’ wind. No more fact checking on social media. How can one not be bothered by it? Yet, millions think that is alright. Is that because they don’t live an honest life themselves?
It’s mindblowing and if I would have access to a time machine, then I would quickly fly into the future, maybe 200 years from now, just because I would love to see how history judged us -and them.
Personally, I think America has been sold to the highest bidder.
I’ve said, since 45/47 was first elected I wanted to go out 100 years and see how the history books portray this time period politically. And read the college group study projects that study stuff like this. Though for all I know, in 100 years there won’t be history books or study groups.
or any humans ?
Possibly. I’m glad I didn’t have kids
We feel the same way.