End the UK’s membership of the World Health Organization
104,974 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 18 October 2023; it closed on 18 April 2024. The Government responded on 17 November 2023.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
End the UK’s membership of the World Health Organization
The World Health Organisation is not a democratically elected body and we are concerned about the powers WHO may be given over Sovereign Nations in the future.
We think that ending the UK’s membership of the World Health Organisation is important for the sovereign governance of our country.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 17 November 2023; the petitions site lists the Department of Health and Social Care as responsible. Its summary:
The UK Government will not end our WHO membership. We are committed to working with the WHO to tackle the world’s health issues. We do not and will never cede sovereign powers through our partnership.
The opening 348 words of the 802-word response:
The UK continues to have a strong relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO), which, as the United Nation’s specialised agency for health, and the world’s main technical and co-ordinating body in global health, has a vital role to play in supporting public health globally. The Government will not end the UK’s WHO membership.
The WHO is a Member State-led organisation and works on a wide range of technical health areas. These areas are agreed with Member States, including the UK, in advance and are based on our collective health needs and priorities; they are outlined in the WHO’s General Programme of Work (GPW) which are adopted and reviewed regularly by Member States. The current GPW runs from 2019 to 2024; the UK, amongst other Member States, is engaged in the development of the next GPW which will run from 2025 to 2029.
The WHO is the cornerstone of global health cooperation. It is through the WHO that Member States share with each other information on disease outbreaks around the world, share best practice on how to counter health threats and emergencies, and make commitments to each other to undertake activities to promote health and to avoid activities which could be detrimental to health.
The UK has long partnered with the WHO and its Member States to tackle the world’s most pressing health challenges. The UK continues to engage with the WHO, including on improving the global health system so the world better prepares and responds to future health emergencies. The UK is also an active attendee at the WHO governing body meetings including the WHO World Health Assembly and the WHO Executive Board. The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the decision-making body of the WHO; it is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by Member States on the Executive Board. The UK is a rotating member of the WHO Executive Board including most recently until May 2023, and we use these opportunities to hold WHO to account for delivering the General Programme of Work and other commitments.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 322, came from Wealden.
102,611 of the signatures were from the UK and 2,363 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Wealden | 322 |
| Mid Sussex | 318 |
| Wells | 293 |
| Somerton and Frome | 292 |
| Eastbourne | 288 |
| Isle of Wight | 287 |
| Hastings and Rye | 279 |
| Bexhill and Battle | 273 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | 263 |
| West Dorset | 263 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 15,735 |
| North West | 12,306 |
| South West | 10,904 |
| London | 10,176 |
| East of England | 9,915 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 7,960 |
| West Midlands | 7,596 |
| Scotland | 7,573 |
| East Midlands | 7,060 |
| Wales | 5,717 |
| North East | 4,122 |
| Northern Ireland | 2,586 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on .
The Petitions Committee's summary of the debate:
The Petitions Committee has decided not to schedule a debate on this petition.
The Committee recognised the support that this petition has received. However, the issues raised by this petition have recently been discussed by MPs in other debates, including:
A debate on e-petition 614335, "Do not sign any WHO Pandemic Treaty unless it is approved via public referendum", which took place on 17 April 2023. You can read a transcript of this debate here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-04-17/debates/12BE683F-A25C-46E5-9FE9-B9C12CCDA9B7/PandemicPreventionPreparednessAndResponseInternationalAgreement
A debate on e-petition 635904, "Hold a parliamentary vote on whether to reject amendments to the IHR 2005", which took place on 18 December 2023. You can read a transcript of this debate here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-12-18/debates/945EBBB4-D052-4CF7-8109-B39FF7FF919D/InternationalHealthRegulations2005
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/648609.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
9f4bebd92ebe0c9e… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.