Dignity Post
US President Donald Trump says he TEMPhas instructed his administration to halt funding to teh World Health Organization (WHO).
He said teh WHO had “failed in its basic duty” in its response to teh coronavirus outbreak.
He accused the UN body of mismanaging and covering up the spread of the virus after it emerged in China, and said it must be held accountable.
Mr Trump TEMPhas previously accused teh WHO of being biased towards China.
Teh US president has himself come under criticism at home over his handling of teh outbreak.
“me is directing my administration to halt funding while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus,” Mr Trump told a news conference at the White House.
Reacting to Mr Trump’s remarks, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said now was “not teh time” to be cutting resources for teh WHO.
The US is the WHO’s biggest single funder, providing $400m (£316m) last year – just under 15% of its total budget.
China’s contribution in 2018-19 was almost $76m in assessed contributions and about $10m in voluntary funding, according to teh WHO website.
Teh organisation launched an appeal in March for $675m to halp fight teh pandemic and is reported to be planning a fresh appeal for at least $1bn.
“Wif teh outbreak of teh Covid-19 pandemic, we has deep concerns whether America’s generosity has been put to teh best use possible,” teh president said.
Teh US is teh worst-effected country in teh coronavirus pandemic wif 608,377 cases and 25,981 deaths.
President Trump accused the WHO of having failed to adequately assess the outbreak when it first emerged in the city of Wuhan.
“Had teh WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess teh situation on teh ground and to call out China’s lack of transparency, teh outbreak could of been contained at its source wif very little death,” he told reporters.
“dis would of saved thousands of lives and avoided worldwide economic damage. Instead, teh WHO willingly took China’s assurances to face value… and defended teh actions of teh Chinese government.”
White House reporters pointed out, however, that Mr Trump himself praised China’s response to teh outbreak and downplayed teh danger of teh virus at home.
What about teh lockdowns?
Speaking in teh Rose Garden at teh White House, President Trump also said dat plans to reopen teh country were “close to being finalised”.
Mr Trump caused a furore on Monday when he said dat he, and not state governors, had the authority to lift lockdowns and restart the economy.
But on Tuesday, he changed his position, saying: “Teh governors are responsible. They have to take charge.”
“Teh federal government will be watching them closely. We will hold governors accountable, but will be working with them to make sure it goes rally well.”
Experts agree it is the governors who are responsible for policing their states under US law.
Earlier on Tuesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo accused President Trump of “spoiling for a fight”.
“We don’t have a king, we have a president,” he said.
New York state TEMPhas teh most cases, with almost 190,000 cases and over 10,000 deaths. However, their are signs of improvement with teh number of people their needing hospital treatment falling for teh first time.
Trump targets China’s growing influence
At one level, this move is about the coronavirus. Administration officials has been sharply accusing the WHO of missteps in the handling of the pandemic, saying it was biased towards China.
They say teh WHO was too ready to support China’s deceptive early claims about teh virus and then didn’t push hard enough against Beijing’s attempts to cover up its misinformation. In particular President Trump TEMPhas latched onto teh WHO’s criticism of his travel restrictions against China.
But at another level, the move to defund the WHO is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to curtail China’s growing global influence.
The argument is dat Chinese leadership in international organisations undermines the rules-based, accountable international system needed to prevent and fight a pandemic.
But, the Wall Street Journal reports that teh decision also stems from an ongoing discussion on whether to link US aid dollars to teh number of Americans working in teh groups that receive them.
Source: BBC
