Trump: USA suspends paying contributions to WHO
21:35
US President Donald Trump ordered his administration to stop paying contributions to the World Health Organization (WHO) until it clarified what role it played in "mismanaging and concealing the spread of coronavirus.”
"The world has received a lot of false information about transmission and mortality from coronavirus," said Trump.
The US president has accused the WHO, which is a UN agency, that its many errors have contributed to many deaths.
According to Trump, WHO's misconduct and confidence in the data provided by the Chinese authorities caused the situation to dramatically deteriorate and the coronavirus to spread throughout the world.
Responding to criticism, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that coronavirus is being used for political purposes.
The founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, criticized Trump’s decision.
“Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds. Their work is slowing the spread of COVID-19 and if that work is stopped no other organization can replace them. The world needs WHO now more than ever,” gates wrote on Twitter.
The US is the largest payer when it comes to financing WHO by individual countries. This year, the US is to donate nearly $116 million to the World Health Organization.
(PAP, Gazeta.pl)
