After the United States announced its decision to exit the World Health Organization, a screenshot of The Economic Times report, claiming that the Indian government is considering leaving WHO, is widely circulating on social media.
A Facebook user posted the image with a cation: Just when you think your day couldn’t get better… India suggests EXITING the W.H.O.That makes USA, ITALY AND INDIA.
Check the above post here (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim, and found it to be false.
Searching with relevant keywords, the NM team found the original Economic Times report, dated December 2, 2023, with a title: “WHO has lost its independence, Indian govt should exit global health body.” The report does not state that the Indian government is considering exiting WHO. Instead, it quotes Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a British-Indian cardiologist, who suggested that India should ignore WHO’s advice and consider leaving.
We searched for any official statement from the Indian government or WHO regarding India’s withdrawal, but found none. There has been no announcement from government officials regarding such a move.
A report by ANI, dated January 29, 2024, quoted Union Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda, who assured that the US’ withdrawal from WHO will not affect India’s health programmes.
“Our projects and programmes will continue without disruption and India is one of the major contributors to the WHO,” Nadda said.
Thus, we can conclusively say that India is not considering withdrawing from WHO. The viral claim is False.
