Coronavirus: Nancy Pelosi vows to challenge Donald Trump’s ‘illegal’ suspension of World Health Organisation funding
- Bill Gates writes that stopping funding for the WHO during a pandemic ‘is as dangerous as it sounds’
- US speaker of the House says move by Trump is ‘senseless’
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to oppose President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend funding for the World Health Organisation (WHO), a move widely criticised as dangerous and harmful during a global pandemic.
“The president’s halting of funding to the WHO as it leads the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic is senseless,” Pelosi said in a statement. “This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged.”
Trump announced his intention to suspend the funding on Tuesday, accusing the United Nations’ public health agency of “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus”.
Payments would be held for up to 90 days, during which time the administration would investigate the agency’s response, and a resumption in payments would be contingent on the outcome of the inquiry, Trump said.
With its payments accounting for about 15 per cent of the organisation’s US$6.2 billion budget over the past two years, the US is the WHO’s biggest contributor. Washington’s outlays of foreign aid, including to the WHO, must be approved by Congress as part of the annual federal budget.