Trump Gives WHO 30-days To Improve ‘Else US will Permanently Halt Funding

The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump has threatened to permanently pull funding from the World Health Organisation (WHO) if it does not commit to “major substantive improvements” within 30 days, according to a letter to the WHO chief shared by Mr Trump on Twitter.

 

In the 4 pages letter to WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, Mr Trump set out what he called “repeated missteps” by the organisation.

 

Mr Trump claimed that the WHO shares the responsibility for the large number of deaths in the crisis.

 

He opines that mismanagement on the part of the WHO and reliance on information from China had worsened the pandemic.

 

Mr Trump said he would make a temporary freeze of funding permanent and might also reconsider U.S. membership of the organisation at the end of the 30-day deadline if he saw no improvements.

 

“The only way forward for the World Health Organisation is if it can actually demonstrate independence from China,” the U.S. president affirmed.

He said discussions with the organisation on how to reform the WHO had already begun.

The statement reads;

“But action is needed quickly. We do not have time to waste.

“I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organisation that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America’s interests,” Trump concluded.

 

The U.S. president faced global backlash when he announced in April that he would be halting funding to the WHO while a 60- to 90-day review took place. He also faced criticism over how the White House initially responded to the virus.

 

Mr Trump has repeatedly accused WHO of failing in its response to the pandemic.

He has stated that U.S. taxpayers provided between 400 and 500 million dollars a year to the organisation of which the funding is largely appropriated by Congress.

Mr Trump’s criticisms of the WHO corroborate with some experts, who feels that WHO relied so much on information from China at the initial stages of the outbreak.

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