President of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced to suspend the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual funding of $100 million after a series of allegations on the organization accusing it of covering up the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Following the outbreak, the WHO failed to acquire, examine, and share important information with the member countries in a timely manner. The organization failed to perform its fundamental duty and must be held accountable, said Trump.
The US President has also blamed the WHO for failing to issue a travel advisory for China ahead of the Lunar New Year’s celebrations in January 2020. The WHO continuously toed the Chinese government’s line which rejected the human to human transmission of the virus.
Donald Trump, who continuously downplayed the gravity of the disease and did not pay heed to multiple warnings from his aides, has said that delay by the WHO in declaring the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic cost valuable time to the world.
Unless the WHO changes its actions, the US is faced with no choice but to withdraw from the organization’s membership, warned Trump. In case the US pulls out of the WHO, Trump’s administration will directly disburse the funding meant for WHO to countries facing healthcare challenges.
Democrat senator from Oregon, Jeff Merkley, denounced Trump’s announcement and said that failures at both the national and international level led to the disaster that we are faced with today.
A decreased US support and presence at the WHO’s table during imperative discussions would only help China to tighten its grip on the WHO, stated senator Merkley.
WHO officials have resisted a public fallout with the US and repeatedly said that the world is in the middle of a pandemic. It is not the right time for a funding fight.
Via: Independent
