What Americans Think of the WHO

More than half of Americans believe the United States benefits from its membership in the World Health Organization (WHO), according to Pew Research Center research.

Pew conducted the research before President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will withdraw from the WHO.

The benefits of WHO membership are less evident to Americans now than during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the share of Americans who said the U.S. benefits a great deal or a fair amount from WHO membership decreased significantly between 2021 and 2024. That included a decrease of 8% in the share who said the U.S. benefits a great deal.

In 2021, Americans were mostly pleased with how the WHO was handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Most (55%) said the organization was doing a good job, and 42% said it was doing a bad job. On the other hand, just 42% said the U.S. was managing the outbreak well.

While about 80% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said the U.S. benefits from being part of the WHO, just 38% of Republicans and Republican leaners agreed. The gap is larger than the partisan divides seen when asking about the benefits of United Nations (UN) membership or NATO membership. The WHO is the UN’s health agency.