Trump directs halt to payments to WHO during virus pandemic

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was cutting off U.S. payments to the World Health Organization through the coronavirus pandemic, accusing the business of failing to do enough to avoid the virus from spreading when it first surfaced in China.

Trump, who had telegraphed his intentions the other day, claimed the outbreak might have been contained at its source and that lives might have been saved had the U.N. health agency done an improved job investigating the first reports appearing out of China.

“The WHO failed in its basic duty and should be held accountable,” Trump said at a briefing. He said the U.S. will be reviewing the WHO’s actions to stop the virus prior to making any decision on resuming aid.

There is no immediate comment from the Geneva-based organization on Trump’s announcement. But when asked about possible U.S. funding cuts during a regular U.N. briefing earlier Tuesday, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris responded, “Regardless of any issues, our work will continue.”

Trump said the U.S. will continue steadily to engage with the WHO in search of “meaningful reforms.”

AMERICA contributed practically $900 million to the WHO’s cover 2018-19, according to information on the agency’s website. That represents one-fifth of its total $4.4 billion cover those years. The U.S. gave nearly three-fourths of the funds in “specified voluntary contributions” and the others in “assessed” funding within Washington’s commitment to U.N. institutions.

A far more detailed WHO budget document supplied by the U.S. mission in Geneva showed that in 2019, the United States provided $452 million, including practically $119 million in assessed funding. In its latest budget proposal from February, the Trump administration needed slashing the U.S. assessed funding contribution to the WHO to $57.9 million.

A lot more than 125,000 deaths worldwide, including a lot more than 25,000 in the U.S., have already been blamed on the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The other day, Trump blasted the WHO to be “China-centric” and alleging that it had “criticized” his ban on travel from China as the COVID-19 outbreak was spreading from the town of Wuhan.

The WHO generally takes care never to criticize countries on the national policies, and it had been not immediately clear what specific criticism Trump was alluding to.

Trump himself showed deference to China in the beginning stages of the outbreak.

“China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus,” he tweeted Jan. 24. “The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all workout well. In particular, with respect to the American People, I wish to thank President Xi!”

Asked Tuesday about the appropriateness of seeking to slice the WHO’s funding in the center of an internationally viral outbreak, Trump said the review would last 60 to 90 days.

“This is an analysis period, however in the meantime, we’re putting a hold on all funds likely to World Health,” Trump said.

Trump in addition has complained that other countries give substantially less than the U.S., singling out China.

The American Medical Association immediately called on Trump to reconsider his decision.

“Through the worst public health crisis in a hundred years, halting funding to the World Health Organization is a dangerous part of the wrong direction that won't make defeating COVID-19 easier,” AMA President Patrice A. Harris said in a statement.

Harris said international cooperation is needed to fight the virus, along with science and data.

“Cutting funding to the WHO, instead of concentrating on solutions, is a dangerous move at a precarious moment for the world,” she said.

For many people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as for example fever and cough, that get rid of in 2-3 weeks. But it could cause more serious illness, including pneumonia, and death for some people, especially older adults and persons with existing health problems. The vast majority of men and women recover.