The World Health Organization is shaped by its members: 194 countries that set health priorities and make agreements about how to share critical data, treatments, and vaccines during international emergencies.

The WHO is an agency of the United Nations tasked with coordinating responses to public health emergencies between nations. The United States is a founding member of the organization, which was set up in 1948 in the wake of World War II.

Public health experts say the United States’ departure could cripple the WHO’s operations or leave an opening for China to assume greater control over the agency.

This afternoon, the Associated Press is reporting that United States officials have officially ordered all public health officers to cease working at the World Health Organization just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order pulling the United States out of the World Health Organization.

The United States will leave the World Health Organization, President Donald Trump said on Monday, saying the global health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.

The U.S. withdrawal from WHO has seismic implications on issues like prevention of future pandemics, and the stakes are especially high for Canada.