Geneva: Nations around the world reacted with alarm Wednesday after US President Donald Trump’s announcement. Trump said that US was halting the sizable funds it sends to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Health experts warned the move could jeopardize global efforts to stop the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump said he was instructing his administration to halt funding for WHO. A review of its role ‘in severely mismanaging and covering up spread of the coronavirus will be done’ Trump said. The United States is WHO’s largest single donor, contributing between $400 million and $500 million annually.
Trump has repeatedly labelled COVID-19 as the ‘Chinese virus’. He has criticised WHO for being lenient on China. The novel coronavirus first emerged late last year in China.
Outside experts have doubted China’s reported infections and death figures s from the virus. They have said the figures are too low and unreliable.
European Union unhappy
The European Union (EU) Wednesday said Trump has ‘no reason’ to freeze WHO funding at this critical stage. It called for measures to promote unity instead of division. EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell said the 27-nation bloc ‘deeply’ regrets the suspension of funds. He added that the UN health agency is now ‘needed more than ever’ to combat the pandemic.
Borrell said ‘only by joining forces can we overcome this crisis that knows no borders’. Even though they have been traditional allies for decades, the EU has increasingly been critical of the Trump administration over the past years.
Australia backs Trump, but to fund WHO
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he sympathized with some of Trump’s criticisms of WHO and China. However, Australia would continue to fund the WHO.
“We work closely with them so that we’re not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater here,” Morrison said. “But they’re also not immune from criticism,” he added.
Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, pushed back at Trump’s announcement. “Placing blame doesn’t help,” Maas wrote on Twitter. “The virus knows no borders. We must work closely against COVID-19. Strengthening the UN, in particular the underfunded WHO, is a better investment to develop and distribute tests and vaccines.”
Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, called Trump’s decision ‘extremely problematic’. “This is exactly the time when WHO needs more funding, not less.” Sridhar said. “Trump’s move is a short-sighted political decision that would likely have lasting consequences. Trump is angry, but his anger is being directed in a way that is going to ultimately hurt US interests,” she added.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said his country is ‘seriously concerned’ about the US government’s decision.
“The WHO is the most authoritative and professional international institution in the field of global public health security. It plays an irreplaceable role in responding to the global public health crisis. So funding WHO should not stop,” Lijian told reporters Wednesday.
‘Deeply regrettable’
The African Union Commission also called Trump’s decision ‘deeply regrettable.
“Today more than ever, the world depends on WHO’s leadership to steer the global #Covid-19 pandemic response. Our collective responsibility is to ensure WHO can fully carry out its mandate. Now is the time to act urgently,” Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman African Union Commission said on Twitter.
Agencies
