«Now is not the time!»: Trump boycott of WHO sparks global outrage

The United Nations (UN), the People’s Republic of China and even their own allies rejected and expressed their outrage at the recent decision by US President Donald Trump to freeze and boycott his country’s financing of the WHO, the World Health Organization.

Trump’s decision was known on Tuesday, April 14, despite the United States becoming the global epicenter of infections and deaths from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which produces the deadly disease of COVID-19 that mainly attacks the respiratory system of the people.

Trump, who is already considered the «worst president in American history» for his dreadful efforts to prevent the pandemic, argued that his decision is based on the «mismanagement and cover-up of the expansion of the coronavirus» by the WHO.

The North American nation is the State that contributes the most to the WHO -an institution headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland-. It donated nearly $ 400 million in 2019, approximately 15% of the organization’s budget.

According to the Head of the White House, the WHO «failed in its basic duty and must be held accountable». He also claimed that the agency promoted China’s «disinformation» about the virus, which would have helped the spread of the outbreak.

For this Wednesday, April 15, the US counts more than 630 thousand positive cases of COVID-19 and exceeds 33 thousand fatalities. The US holds the first place in the world in both negative indicators.

Among the first reactions was that of the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, who warned that this «is not the time» to cut funds to the WHO.

«I think WHO should be supported, as it is absolutely fundamental to the world’s efforts to win the war against COVID-19 (…) this is not the time to cut resources for the operations of WHO or any other humanitarian organization in the fight against the virus», Guterres said in a public statement.

The head of Foreign Affairs of the European Union, Josep Borrell, also criticized on Wednesday the decision of Trump to suspend the financing of his country to the WHO, while the pandemic remains uncontrolled.

«I deeply regret the decision of the United States to suspend funding to WHO. There is no reason to justify this move at a time when its efforts are more necessary than ever», Borrel said, quoted by agencies.

China: Trump’s decision will affect the entire world

China, for its part, expressed «grave concern» over Trump’s decision and urged Washington to continue to meet its obligations to the WHO. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the pandemic is at a critical stage and that Washington’s decision would affect everyone.

«We call on the United States to fulfill its responsibilities and obligations and to support WHO in leading the international campaign against the (coronavirus) epidemic», said Lijian.

Due to the «distressing situation» of the pandemic, Beijing believes that the suspension of US funding «will weaken WHO’s capacity and undermine international cooperation in the fight against the disease».

«This will affect countries around the world, including the United States, and especially those with weaker (health) capabilities,» he warned.

The spokesman assured that China will continue to «play an important role» in promoting international public health and in the fight against the pandemic.

Allies reject Trump’s measure

Other countries, including great allies of the United States such as France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, spoke out against the polemic decision.

The United Kingdom issued its position on Wednesday and stressed that it will not suspend its funds to the WHO, given that the agency has «important» work ahead of it to tackle the pandemic.

«Our position is that the UK has no plans to stop contributing funds to WHO, which has important work to do to lead the global health response to the new coronavirus (…) It is a global challenge and it is essential that countries work together to deal with this shared threat», said the British government.

Chancellor Dominic Raab will represent the United Kingdom this week at the «virtual summit» of the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7, the most industrialized), to be chaired by Trump himself. Raab will provisionally replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who remains in recovery after suffering from COVID-19.

A total of 12,107 patients in the UK have died in hospitals from coronavirus, according to the latest official figures released until Tuesday, April 14. That data was known after the last peak of 778 deaths in one day, a figure that is close to the record previously reached last Friday, when 780 people lost their lives.

For its part, the Government of France also regretted Trump’s decision to freeze the funds that his Government contributes to the WHO.

«It is a situation that we clearly regret because the commitment of France and especially of the President of the Republic to multilateralism is known», said the French government spokeswoman, Sibeth Ndiaye, after the Council of French Ministers.

The French Executive recalled that the WHO is facing an unprecedented pandemic, with more than two million infected and more than 130,000 deaths worldwide.

«Obviously, we hope to return to normal conditions as soon as possible, and that the WHO, which is facing an unprecedented pandemic, as well as all the countries of the world can do its work with serenity», added Ndiaye.

The same was done by the German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, who said – quoted by agencies – that it is not fair to «blame others» for the crisis, because «the virus knows no borders».

He stressed the need to work together to combat the pandemic, saying that one of the best investments is to strengthen WHO funding and thus «develop and distribute tests and vaccines».

For her part, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stressed that she did not agree with the arguments given by Trump and said that the WHO is a key instrument in the fight against the coronavirus.

«At a time like this, when we need to share information and we need advice that we can trust, the WHO has provided us with that (…) we will continue to support it and we will continue to make our contributions», said Ardem, quoted by BBC World.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, while sympathetic to Trump’s criticism of the WHO, also highlighted the «large amount of important work» it does as an international organization and the importance of working together with it.

American unions join the rejection

The United States Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee are some of the institutions that have spoken out against Trump’s move.

«The President shows us his political playbook: blame the WHO, blame China, blame his political opponents, blame his predecessors, do whatever it takes to deflect the fact that his administration mishandled this crisis and now it is costing thousands of American lives”,denounced the Democratic representative of the House, Eliot Engel.

Meanwhile, the number of infections and deaths from coronavirus continues to increase in the United States. At least 2,200 people died in that country on Tuesday, a record number according to Reuters news agency.

This Wednesday, the total number of deaths in the United States already exceeded 26,000 victims; New York City being the most affected with more than 3,700 deaths.