Jonathan Lambert

Just over one year ago, President Trump announced his intention to leave the World Health Organization, accusing the agency of mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S.

has to give one year's notice to withdraw, according to a decades-old congressional resolution.

That same resolution also stipulates that the U.S.

can only leave if it's paid all its outstanding dues, and it currently owes over $250 million.

The U.S.

won't be paying that, the State Department told NPR, but says it's still out of the WHO.

The exit has cut millions from WHO's budget and forced layoffs at the agency.

The withdrawal could also mean that the U.S.

loses access to key health and disease data that influences everything from designing annual flu shots to detecting the virus that could spark the next pandemic.

Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.

In 2022, a strain of the mpox virus spread across the globe, ultimately affecting more than 140 countries.

During that outbreak, the disease spread primarily between men who have sex with men.

It can cause painful skin lesions, fever, and sometimes death.

But little was known about long-lasting symptoms.

Researchers studied over 150 MPOX patients in the U.S.

for many months after they were first infected.

The most common lingering symptom was scarring, but about 13% had ongoing physical problems, including difficulty urinating or defecating.

Many reported lasting psychological issues, too, from depression to difficulty socializing.

The results were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.