Health IQ: U.S. withdraws from World Health Organization

Minggu, 25 Januari 2026

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U.S. withdraws from the WHO

The U.S. has finalized its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, one year after President Donald Trump announced America was ending its 78-year-old commitment, federal officials said Thursday.

But it's hardly a clean break.

The U.S. owes about $280 million to the global health agency, according to WHO. And Trump administration officials acknowledge that they haven't finished working out some issues, such as lost access to data from other countries that could give America an early warning of a new pandemic.

Read more to find out about Trump's plans to withdraw from the World Health Organization.

Health Canada warns of fake semaglutide drugs

Health Canada is warning Canadians of the dangers of buying "fake or unauthorized products" meant to replicate popular GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy.

In a public advisory released on Wednesday, Health Canada states that the risks of using "counterfeit" alternatives can vary from "infections due to lack of sterility, allergic reactions, and other serious negative outcomes due to contamination, improper handling, or unsafe administration."

Health Canada advised users to watch out for incorrect labels, poor manufacturing or any product containing contaminants such as solvents, heavy metals, particles (glass, fibres and plastics) or microbials such as bacteria, fungi or endotoxins.

Read more to find out about Health Canada's warning.

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World Cup fever?

Doctors in Canada's FIFA World Cup host cities say they're concerned the already strained health-care system will buckle if a sudden, unexpected surge slams emergency departments during the games.

Dr. Catherine Varner, an emergency medicine physician in Toronto, wrote an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal Monday raising concerns about vulnerabilities in the health-care system that she says need to be addressed before more than 300,000 soccer fans set foot in Toronto and Vancouver in June.

Both cities have hosted mass gatherings in the past.

Local and provincial public health officials are actively anticipating health risks, with Public Health Ontario flagging measles, food-borne illnesses and COVID-19 as potential concerns. Toronto and Vancouver also have wastewater surveillance systems set up to detect infectious disease outbreaks during and after the World Cup.