On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that he is halting funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) because it severely mismanaged and covered up the coronavirus crisis, especially the initial response to the outbreak.
When the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, the WHO criticized Trump’s restrictions on travel from China to the United States. The president ordered travel restrictions on January 31, when the cases in China surged.
Trump said, “With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have deep concerns about whether America’s generosity has been put to the best use possible.”
“The reality is that the WHO failed to adequately obtain and share information in a timely and transparent fashion,” he added. “It could have been contained at its source.”
Trump’s decision to halt funding for the WHO has raised concerns whether his move could affect efforts by other nations to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The president also claimed that the “WHO pushed China’s misinformation about the virus … and there was no need for travel bans.”
The WHO declared coronavirus a global health emergency when the cases reached up to 10,000 on January 30, almost a month after the first case was detected in China.
Congressional Democrats disputed Trump’s decision to unilaterally halt WHO funding.
The House Appropriations Committee’s spokesperson Evan Hollander said Trump’s move is “a desperate attempt to deflect blame,” adding, “The President does not have the unilateral authority to withhold the United States’ contribution to the World Health Organization.”
Rep. Nita Lowey, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement, “We are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world.”
She said the nation would remain at risk if the virus is not defeated across the world. She also said that Trump should not take away valuable resources in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
“I hope the President will see the need to use all avenues to defeat this virus,” Lowey said. “If not, Congress will ensure that the United States Government will.”
Trump accused the WHO of being “China-centric.” He said the nations sends $500 million every year to the global health organization.
Previously, the president said he was only looking into cutting the funds and would be looking at it “very carefully.”
On Tuesday, he said the WHO failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable.
“The WHO failed to investigate credible reports from sources in Wuhan that conflicted directly with the Chinese government’s official accounts,” Trump said.
“Well, we’re going to be dealing with countries,” he added. Trump also said that he is going to “channel” that money to places that need it.
