The World Health Organisation (WHO) has publicly called on the United States to share any classified intelligence it possesses regarding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, months after Washington formally withdrew from the UN health agency.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed on Wednesday that the organisation had written to senior U.S. officials requesting any pertinent intelligence but had not received a response. “We haven’t received any information,” Tedros stated. “We hope they will share, because we haven’t still concluded the Covid origins.” He emphasised that determining the virus’s source is critical for preventing future pandemics.
The appeal comes against the backdrop of the United States’s completed withdrawal from the WHO, a process initiated by President Donald Trump in January 2025 citing the agency’s alleged mishandling of the pandemic. The Trump administration had previously promoted the theory that SARS-CoV-2 emerged from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China. However, the WHO has consistently stated that all hypotheses remain on the table pending further evidence, and its own investigations have yet to reach a definitive conclusion.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, confirmed the agency continues to follow up with governments, including the U.S., that have indicated possession of intelligence reports. “We don’t have those reports to date,” she said, other than publicly available information.
The separation has been acrimonious. In a statement issued as the U.S. withdrawal took effect, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused the WHO of “obstructed the timely and accurate sharing of critical information” and of tarnishing U.S. contributions. The WHO rebutted these claims, asserting the reverse is true.
Financially, the split is also unresolved. Although the U.S. notice period has expired, Washington has not paid its assessed contributions for 2024 and 2025, leaving an outstanding dues bill of approximately $260 million, according to WHO data. The U.S. had reserved its right to withdraw upon joining the WHO in 1948, provided it gives one year’s notice and settles its financial obligations, a condition it has so far not fully met.
The WHO’s renewed plea for U.S. intelligence underscores the persistent global scientific and political quest to trace the pandemic’s origins. With the formal relationship severed and key financial and informational disputes outstanding, the path to a conclusive understanding of COVID-19’s beginnings remains fraught with geopolitical tension. The agency continues to seek cooperation from all member states, stressing that transparent data sharing is essential for global health security.
