Trump Withdraws Funding To WHO Citing Its Poor Handling Of Coronavirus Pandemic

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, April 14 said that he has ordered his administration to halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Today I am 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 on Tuesday in a briefing at the White House.

This comes after Trump, on April 7, threatened to pull funding to WHO calling it "China-centric" as US witnessed the highest 24-hour spike in COVID-19 deaths than any other country.

After Trump's threat, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked world leaders not to politicize the pandemic, saying it would result in only "many more body bags." "The focus of all political parties should be to save their people," Tedros said.

"No need to use COVID to score political points," he said. "You have many other ways to prove yourself."

At a White House news conference, US President lashed out at WHO and said that it had "failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable." He said the organisation had promoted China's "disinformation" about the virus, keeping several countries in dark.

"As the organization's leading sponsor, the United States has a duty to insist on full accountability," Trump said. "One of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the WHO was its disastrous decision to oppose travel restrictions from China and other nations."

The US is the single largest contributor to the WHO and its assessed contribution stands at 22% of total members' assessed contributions, while China's is at 12%. The 22% assessed contribution has been constant for years, but voluntary contributions have fluctuated time and again depending on health crises across the world and political priorities.

After Trump's stringent decision, American Medical Association President Dr. Patrice Harris said that it is a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier and urged him to reconsider his decision.

Trump has time and again criticized the WHO for its leniency towards China in the early days of the pandemic, which led to large scale deaths across the world.

The death toll in US due to COVID-19 has jumped to 26,064 with total cases at 614,246. Millions of people in the US have lost their jobs and the country's economy has been paralysed as citizens stay at their homes and businesses remain shut.

How Will This Affect WHO?

The World Health Organization is an autonomous international body that operates with the United Nations to direct international health and leads partners in global health responses.

Since the appointment of Trump as the US President, he has quit the U.N. Human Rights Council, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO and opposed a U.N. migration pact.

The Trump administration slashed funding in 2017 for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the agency that helps Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and halted its contribution to the UN's aviation agency in 2019.

The WHO has constantly been appealing for more than $1 billion in funds for operations against the deadly pandemic that has engulfed the world.

Also Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: US President Donald Trump's 'Chinese Virus' Remark Sparks Worldwide Outrage