The US will discontinue supporting the World Health Organization (WHO). US President Donald Trump wants to halt WHO funding over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, Trump said they will suspend WHO funding as they evaluate the organization's response to the COVID-19 outbreak. He pointed out that international health agency committed errors that “caused so much death” as the coronavirus pandemic saps the world.
“Today I’m instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus,” Trump said during the White House briefing.
He criticized the WHO's way of handling the crisis, saying “one of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the WHO was its disastrous decision to oppose travel restrictions from China and other nations” that Trump implemented early on in the outbreak.
“Fortunately, I was not convinced and suspended travel from China saving untold numbers of lives,” he said.
However, there is no definite information yet on what mechanism Trump would use to suspend WHO funding, much of which is appropriated by Congress. The president is not in the position to unilaterally redirect congressional funding.
Observers say that Trump may use powers granted to the president under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. This means Trump can call for the postponement of congressional funds, but it needs congressional approval within 45 days. Without approval, the budget must be returned to their original, congressionally mandated purpose after 45 days.
When asked by reporters about the timing of halting the funds, Trump said the US has had problems with WHO “for years” and the nation should have done this “a long time ago.”
He added that the American government will perform a “thorough” investigation that should last 60 to 90 days.
Trump clarified that it was not about the funds, “but it’s not right. So we’ll see,” he said.
“This is an evaluation period, but in the meantime, we’re putting a hold on all funds going to World Health. We’ll be able to take that money and channel it to the areas that most need it," he noted.
The WHO has not responded to the news to date.
However, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that now is not the time to cut resources needed in fighting COVID-19 outbreak.
He emphasized that the emergence and spread of the disease can be studied once the pandemic is over, “but now is not that time.”
“It is also not the time to reduce the resources for the operations of the World Health Organization or any other humanitarian organization in the fight against the virus,” Guterres said.
The coronavirus, which started in Wuhan, China over three months ago, affected 1.9 million people worldwide and led to at least 125,678 deaths as of Tuesday night, based on the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Trump threatened last week to suspend WHO funding, saying it did not support his travel ban from China early in the COVID-19 outbreak. He reiterated Tuesday that WHO “pushed China’s misinformation about the virus, saying it wasn’t communicable and there was no need for travel bans.”
“The WHO willingly took China’s assurances at face value, and they willingly took it at face value and defended the actions of the Chinese government even while praising China for its so-called transparency,” he said. “I don’t think so.”
