The effects of the United States’ recent withdrawal from critical global health initiatives, such as the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate Agreement, and USAID will have far reaching consequences for human, animal, and environmental health worldwide.

The One Health Approach, which FOUR PAWS endorses, recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, which impacts the well-being of all of us.[1] It incorporates the interconnectivity of global health. What happens in one part of the world will eventually affect other parts of the world, and what happens in our environment affects humans and animals who live in that environment. Additionally, diseases that plague populations of animals often jump into the human world, such as the infamous Covid-19 virus which caused a global pandemic. Pandemic prevention via the One Health approach allows us to protect communities and their livelihoods at the earliest possible stage, before diseases emerge. When it comes to health, there is no isolation. We are all connected.

Investing in global health security not only protects communities in the most vulnerable situations  from health risks worldwide but also safeguards U.S. citizens, both at home and abroad. The decision by the current U.S. administration to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the pandemic agreement negotiations undermines critical global health efforts and puts national health security at risk.

The WHO plays a pivotal role in addressing the root causes of diseases, strengthening health systems, and leading the global response to emergencies. With zoonotic diseases (those that can be transmitted between humans and animals) like highly pathogenic avian influenza (“bird flu”) spreading through 16 U.S. states so far and showing potential for human-to-human transmission, the need for strong international and multidisciplinary collaboration has never been more urgent. Such developments must be a priority for all US administrations.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza recently began spreading not just amongst birds, but also among mammals and across species such as the spillover from dairy cattle to humans. This is of particular concern because the spread and mutation of the pathogen creates new opportunities for the pathogen to transform into a strain that can spread from human to human.

The U.S. has been a founding member and key driver of the WHO, contributing 18% of its overall funding and shaping its governance since 1948. Its leadership is vital to advancing the pandemic agreement, a crucial global instrument aimed at pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The pandemic agreement is a historical opportunity to effectively reduce the risk of future pandemics if centered on pandemic prevention via One Health, to protect lives and livelihoods, to reduce economic losses and to enable equity. Pandemics are a global challenge requiring unified action; withdrawing from the WHO jeopardizes progress, leaving the U.S. and other countries vulnerable to emerging pandemic threats.

 For many decades now, science has been clear: human activity affects our environment, causing climate change. In return, climate change increases the likelihood of severe weather and natural disasters, which affects human and animal health and welfare. The United States has seen destructive hurricanes, flooding, drought, and most recently, the horrific wildfires that burned throughout Los Angeles, California, for days on end. Human homes and lives were lost, as were habitats and lives of countless wildlife. While any one event cannot be directly attributed to climate change, the overall trend is clear: our climate is changing, and natural disasters are increasing.

Climate change may also increase the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, as shifting temperatures and weather patterns create conditions which are conducive to vector-borne diseases—those spread through insects such as mosquitos, ticks, and parasites.

The landmark Paris Climate Agreement is an international treaty that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to thus mitigate climate change and climate disasters. Signed in 2015, this legally binding treaty was adopted by 196 nations, and was the beginning of a worldwide recognition that humanity needed to work together globally to solve this problem.

The current administration’s decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement does not remove the U.S. from the harm that climate change brings. On the contrary, refusing to face this problem and work globally to find environmentally sustainable solutions will likely cause more harm to our environment, and in turn to humans and animals in America as well.   

The United States Agency for International Development, better known as USAID, was created by John F. Kennedy in 1961, with the intention of separating the U.S.’s military actions from foreign aid work. Since then, USAID has been involved in humanitarian projects all over the globe, including assistance that promoted public health, education, and providing clean water and food to people in need.

Health focused initiatives, such as distribution of vaccines, are important for health worldwide. While diseases like polio have been nearly eradicated in countries like the U.S., this is not yet true globally. And due to currently low vaccination rates for diseases like measles in the U.S., there has been increasing cases in America as well - even though the ailment had previously been at record low numbers. As long as a disease exists, new strands can develop and spread throughout the world.  In a globalized world where pathogens are transmitted with ease cross borders, failure to support vaccination both domestically and internationally threatens human health everywhere.

The consequences of this freeze are particularly severe for the Global South, where many countries rely heavily on USAID support for basic health services, disease prevention, and emergency response. Reduced funding exacerbates existing health inequities, increases the spread of preventable diseases, and weakens fragile health systems. Vulnerable populations, especially in low-income countries, face heightened risks without sustained U.S. engagement in global health efforts. Re-engaging with USAID and global health initiatives is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic necessity to build global resilience and safeguard public health worldwide.

The freeze at USAID has not only stopped important aid work that saved more than 3 million lives a year, and many millions more since its inception, it has also stopped preventative measures which help halt pandemics and other disasters, such as famines, which threaten countless lives all over the world, particularly in the most vulnerable countries.

In many ways, our lives are organized around borders—where “we” live and where “they” live, what we keep for ourselves and what we take from and give to others. But the natural world does not recognize these borders; diseases do not remain within borders, neither do weather patterns, nor animals and their habitats. We share one world, where our health is intimately connected, and the better we take care of each other—humans, as well as animals and the environment—the better we will be able to take care of ourselves too.