I welcome the news that President Trump has signed an executive order initiating the process of the United States' withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). As he remarked at the signing, “World Health ripped us off. Everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore.”
While the language may be blunt, the underlying concern is valid—and not limited to the United States. The WHO has long been criticized for bureaucratic inefficiency, lack of transparency, and disproportionate influence over national health systems, often without due accountability. India, too, has paid a price for allowing the WHO a significant role in shaping its healthcare policies.
One of the more troubling aspects of this relationship has been the WHO’s influence over India’s traditional systems of medicine, particularly Ayurveda. Allowing an external body—often guided by Western biomedical paradigms—to dictate standards for indigenous practices undermines both India's sovereignty and its rich medical heritage.
It is time for India to critically reassess its engagement with the WHO. Blind reliance on multilateral health agencies, especially those whose credibility has been increasingly questioned, is not in our national interest. India must chart a more self-reliant and context-sensitive path in global health diplomacy—one that respects its own traditions, capabilities, and public health priorities.