Trump Hints He May Reverse Course And Restore WHO Funding

TOPLINE

President Donald Trump said his administration was considering restoring partial funding to the World Health Organization Saturday morning after suspending U.S. support a month ago in a row over how the group has handled the coronavirus pandemic.

KEY FACTS

KEY BACKGROUND

Critics have accused Trump of attacking the WHO and China to turn public attention away from his own administration’s mistakes in handling the pandemic. Shortly after Trump announced he would suspend WHO payments, the Democratic National Committee released a statement saying, “Trump is willing to put global health further at risk to try to deflect blame from his own failures. But the American people know the truth: It was Trump who ignored warnings for months.”

Trump said the WHO was too “China centric,” accused it of opposing travel restrictions to China and promoting Chinese “disinformation.” China’s self-reported coronavirus statistics have repeatedly come under fire, with critics saying the true toll is probably much higher than the country is reporting. Beijing itself may not know the true extent of the pandemic in China, American intelligence sources have claimed, because mid-level officials in Wuhan and other areas have lied about the number of infections, tests carried out and deaths out of fear of punishment. Trump’s call to suspend U.S. financial support of WHO drew criticism from figures like Bill Gates, who said the move was “as dangerous as its sounds . . . the world needs WHO now more than ever.”

FURTHER READING

Trump says he is considering restoring some funding to WHO, no decision made (Reuters)

‘As Dangerous As It Sounds’: Bill Gates, World Leaders And UN Condemn Trump’s Decision To Halt WHO Funding (Forbes)

President Trump Putting A Hold On Funding To The World Health Organization (Forbes)

Trump And WHO: How Much Does The U.S. Give? What’s The Impact Of A Halt In Funding? (NPR)

China—Heavily Criticized For Its Coronavirus Numbers—Claims No New Deaths (Forbes)

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