WHO denies being 'China-centric' after Trump comment, threat to cut funding

Published April 8, 2020
World Health Organisation officials on Wednesday denied that the body was “China-centric” and said that the acute phase of a pandemic was not the time to cut funding after Trump's comment. — Reuters
World Health Organisation officials on Wednesday denied that the body was “China-centric” and said that the acute phase of a pandemic was not the time to cut funding after Trump's comment. — Reuters

World Health Organisation officials on Wednesday denied that the body was “China-centric” and said that the acute phase of a pandemic was not the time to cut funding, after US President Donald Trump said he would put contributions on hold.

The United States is the top donor to the Geneva-based body which Trump said had issued bad advice during the new coronavirus outbreak.

“The WHO really blew it,” Trump said in a Twitter post. “For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China-centric. We will be giving that a good look."

US contributions to WHO in 2019 exceeded $400 million, almost double the 2nd largest member state contribution. China, in contrast, contributed $44m.

“We are still in the acute phase of a pandemic so now is not the time to cut back on funding,” Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, told a virtual briefing in response to a question about Trump’s remarks.

Read: Trump says WHO is China-centric, 'really blew it' on coronavirus; threatens to freeze US funding

Dr Bruce Aylward, senior advisor to the WHO Director-General, also defended the UN agency’s relationship with China, saying its work with Beijing authorities was important to understand the outbreak which began in Wuhan.

“It was absolutely critical in the early part of this outbreak to have full access to everything possible, to get on the ground and work with the Chinese to understand this,” he told reporters.

“This is what we did with every other hard hit country like Spain and had nothing to do with China specifically.”

He also defended WHO recommendations to keep borders open, saying that China had worked very hard to identify and detect early cases and their contacts and ensure they did not travel in order to contain the outbreak.

On Europe, Kluge described the outbreak of coronavirus there as “very concerning” and urged governments to give “very careful consideration” before relaxing measures to control its spread.

“A dramatic rise in cases across the Atlantic skews what remains a very concerning picture in Europe,” he said. “We still have a long way to go in the marathon.”

Opinion

Editorial

Ultimate price
Updated 02 Nov, 2024

Ultimate price

To dismantle culture of impunity for crimes against journalists, state must ensure that perpetrators do not go unpunished.
Mastung bombing
02 Nov, 2024

Mastung bombing

INSTABILITY continues to haunt Balochistan, as Friday morning’s bombing in Mastung has shown. At least nine...
Plane speak
02 Nov, 2024

Plane speak

DESPITE all its efforts to facilitate PIA’s privatisation, it seems the government only ended up being taken for a...
Seeking investment
Updated 01 Nov, 2024

Seeking investment

Foreign visits will be fruitless unless crucial structural, policy reforms directly affecting investors are focused.
State-backed terror
01 Nov, 2024

State-backed terror

OVER the past year or so, India’s reportedly malign activities in foreign countries have increasingly come under the radar, with
Shared crisis
01 Nov, 2024

Shared crisis

WITH Lahore experiencing unprecedented levels of smog, the Punjab government has announced a series of “green...