The move by Trump to cut funding to the WHO is labelled as a “crime against humanity” by leading health experts.
Washington: United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday stopped funding to the WHO, blaming the UN body over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic as governments fight with how and when to get their struggling economies back to work.
Across the globe, the deadly and highly infectious pandemic has already killed more than 125,000 people and infected nearly two million since it first emerged in China late last year.
“The World Health Organisation failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable,” Trump told a White House news conference on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump has become more hostile towards the World Health Organisation.
Trump has alleged that the Geneva-based institution had promoted China’s “disinformation” about the coronavirus that possibly led to a wider outbreak which otherwise would not have occurred.
DonaldTrump, late on Tuesday declared United States funding to WHO would be put on hold for 60-90 days pending a review “to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus”.
Also Read: COVID-19 Lockdown: Red, Orange, Green Zones To Mark Coronavirus Spots In Country
The United States is the single largest contributor to the World Health Organisation, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of its budget.
The COVID-19 has also upended the lives of billions of people as countries imposed lockdown measures to contain its spread — undoubtedly reducing the death toll, but also sending the global economy on a downhill.
Trump’s decision was “a crime against humanity … Every scientist, every health worker, every citizen must resist and rebel against this appalling betrayal of global solidarity,” wrote Richard Horton, the editor-in-chief of the Lancet medical journal.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was not the time to reduce resources for the World Health Organisation.
UN CHief said in a statement that, “Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences.”
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
