President Trump threatened to halt funding to the World Health Organization unless it makes “substantive” changes.
Trump posted a letter addressed to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus with the ultimatum on social media late Monday night. In the letter, he announced that the administration’s review “confirmed many of the serious concerns [he] raised,” specifically noting the organization’s “alarming lack of independence from the People’s Republic of China.”
The president listed a number of new claims he said the investigation found. In particular, he accused the WHO of “consistently ignor[ing] credible reports of the virus spreading in Wuhan in early December 2019 or even earlier.” He also claimed the organization failed to notify the world that there was “a ’major public health’ concern in Wuhan” and said it suppressed the discovery that the coronavirus could be transmitted between humans. The president alleged that the WHO “probably” didn’t share the information for “political reasons.”
This is the letter sent to Dr. Tedros of the World Health Organization. It is self-explanatory! pic.twitter.com/pF2kzPUpDv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2020
“My Administration has already started discussions with you on how to reform the organization,” Trump concluded. “But action is needed quickly. We do not have time to waste. That is why it is my duty, as President of the United States, to inform you that, if the World Health Organization does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and reconsider our membership in the organization.”
The president’s ultimatum comes as the Trump administration has blamed the WHO for failing to prepare the world for the coronavirus before it had spread to nearly every part of the world. The U.S. is the biggest contributor to the health organization, and a permanent freeze of contributions could be damaging to the WHO’s overall effectiveness.
Trump announced his plan to suspend funding from the WHO on April 14, citing similar conclusions that were addressed in the letter.
“The United States of America has been a long-standing and generous friend to WHO, and we hope it will continue to be so,” Tedros said in response to the funding halt last month. “We regret the decision of the president of the United States to order a halt in funding to the World Health Organization.”
The U.S. is the largest annual contributor to the WHO, accounting for about 15% of the organization’s budget with roughly $400 million.
