US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the US will halt payments to the World Health Organization (WHO) until a review is conducted about the institution’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. He accused the WHO of “severely mismanaging and covering up” the threat, and said that it must be held accountable.
With increased criticism about his own administration’s slow response to the situation, Trump has resorted to his typical ways in the time of a global crisis–being increasingly hostile towards international multilateral organizations and deflecting blame from his own administration. On Monday, he accused the media for downplaying the dangers COVID-19.
Trump criticized the “China-centric” WHO for failing to “adequately obtain, vet, and share information” about the outbreak in a “timely and transparent fashion”, which he said cost the world “valuable time”.
The United States is the largest overall donor to the WHO, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of the organization’s budget. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that now was not the time to cut resources for the operations of the WHO, or any other humanitarian organization working to fight against the virus.
Image Source: Politico
Trump Freezes WHO Funding Over Handling of COVID-19 Outbreak
Accusing the WHO of mishandling the crisis, he said it must be held accountable.
April 15, 2020
