Trump announces US cuts ties with WHO
(Baonghean.vn) - President Donald Trump said on May 29 (local time) that he was terminating the US relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency that the leader said did not do enough to combat the initial spread of the new strain of Corona virus.
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| President Donald Trump has severed ties with the World Health Organization. Photo: AFP |
Mr Trump first halted funding to the UN agency a month ago, accusing it of mishandling the global pandemic.
Ten days later, he accused the Geneva-based WHO of being a “puppet” of China, and said the funding freeze would become permanent unless the organization made “major improvements.”
“Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will today be terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization,” Trump told reporters.
The Republican leader said the US would redirect funding previously allocated to the WHO “to other urgent, deserving and global public health needs”.
“The world needs answers from China about the virus. We must have transparency,” Trump declared.
Beijing has angrily denied US accusations that it downplayed the threat when the virus first emerged in the city of Wuhan late last year, saying Washington is trying to shirk its responsibilities to the WHO and blame it for its own inadequate response to the virus.
The United States is the largest contributor to the WHO budget, providing at least $400 million last year.
Earlier this week, the UN health agency launched a new, independently run fund to solicit private donations, which it hopes will give it more control to direct public and charitable donations to urgent issues such as the coronavirus crisis.
The majority of the WHO’s budget is voluntary contributions, which go directly from countries and other donors to destinations of their choosing. So the WHO only has control over the spending of member states’ “assessed contributions,” which are calculated based on their wealth and population.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the new fund was not related to Trump’s threat. “This is not related to recent funding issues,” he said on May 28, adding that greater financial flexibility had been part of his long-term reform plans since taking office in July 2017.
