Donald Trump announced that the US will put on hold the funding to the WHO citing that the supranational health body mismanaged the health crisis. The curb comes after Trump criticized WHO of being China-centric. Complete Coverage: Coronavirus
Crux of the Matter
Trading Punches Trump and the World Health Organization (WHO) have been exchanging punches since a while now. Trump accused the WHO of being China-centric and that it praised China even when it was opaque in sharing information. WHO Chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom responded to Trump’s criticism of the organisation by urging nations to not politicize the issue of the pandemic. Trump had also threatened to stop funding the apex health body.
Trump’s Decision Trump announced that the US has put on hold funding to WHO for 60-90 days citing the mismanagement of the supranational health organisation body. He said that WHO has “failed to do its basic duty and it must be held accountable for mismanagement”. US – the highest contributor to the WHO – contributed $400-$500 million to the body, nearly 15% of WHO’s 2018-19 budget of $6 billion. But the US is also in $200 million arrears. The US has not disclosed the method to stop funding. While theoretically it cannot stop the funding without the consensus of Congress, it seems Trump has found ways around this constitutional hurdle.
Responding to Trump’s move, the United Nations has said that this is not a time to reduce WHO’s or any other organization’s resources while the pandemic is yet to reach its peak. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that this was a time for the international community to show unity and work in solidarity to stop the virus and mitigate its shattering consequences.
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. — Melinda Gates (@melindagates) April 15, 2020
Trump’s insistence on withdrawing funding is not anything new. In 2017, he announced the US’ withdrawal from the Paris Accord (Paris climate change agreement) citing that the accord put the US at a permanent disadvantage. Trump also withdrew the USA from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that outlined trade agreement among 12 nations. With Trump implementing his America First policy, are we witnessing the onset of reversal of globalisation?
Curiopedia
Other than member nations many Non-Profit Organisations also fund WHO. Some of the largest NPOs are (irrespective of their fund allocations): Novo Nordisk Foundation ($49.1 B), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($46.8 B), Wellcome Trust ($32.9 B) and many more.
Other than WHO, US funds to other international organizations as well. For instance, 22% of the UN’s funding comes from the US. It has also committed $164 billion to IMF.
US is the largest fund contributor to the UN. China comes in second by accounting for 12.5% of UN’s funding.
Although a special agency of the United Nations, WHO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and the UN is headquartered in New York City, USA.
Curated Coverage
Reuters – Trump cuts WHO funding over coronavirus, global death toll mounts
Axios – Trump announces U.S. will halt funding for WHO over coronavirus response
The Guardian – Trump turns against WHO to mask his own stark failings on Covid-19 crisis
Al Jazeera – UN says ‘not the time’ as Trump suspends WHO funds over pandemic
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