Trump threatens World Health Organisation with permanent freeze over coronavirus response
- Ultimatum to UN agency chief coincides with virtual gathering of World Health Assembly to discuss pandemic
- US will permanently cut funding and reconsider membership without ‘substantive improvements’ in 30 days
Trump’s ultimatum – delivered in a letter to WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – coincided with the international public health agency’s first ever virtual World Health Assembly on Monday.
“If the World Health Organisation does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of the United States funding to the WHO permanent and reconsider our membership in the organisation,” he wrote.
“I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organisation that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America’s interests”.
Washington and Beijing have been locked in an escalating war of words over the Covid-19 pandemic which has infected more than 4.8 million people and killed over 316,000 since it was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.