WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday he would stop funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic while his administration evaluates its reaction to the international crisis.
Trump, at a White Home news conference, said the WHO had actually “stopped working in its fundamental task and it must be held accountable.” He stated the group had actually promoted China’s “disinformation” about the infection that likely resulted in a wider break out of the virus than otherwise would have happened.
The United States is the biggest general donor to the Geneva-based WHO, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15%of its budget.
The hold on funding was anticipated. Trump has actually been increasingly crucial of the company as the worldwide health crisis has actually continued, and he has actually reacted madly to criticism of his administration’s action.
The choice drew instant condemnation. American Medical Association President Dr. Patrice Harris called it “a harmful step in the incorrect direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 simpler” and advised Trump to reassess.
Democratic Representative Nita Lowey, who heads the U.S. House of Representatives Committee that sets federal government costs, said Trump was slipping up.
” The coronavirus can not just be beat here in the United States, it has to be beat in every possible place throughout the world,” she stated in a declaration.
The Republican president just recently implicated the WHO of being too lenient with China in the