The head of the World Health Organization called the accusations “false and unacceptable” by the United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, who reportedly said that the health official had reached an agreement with China that influenced the body’s decisions.
The answer comes after months of criticism from the administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who stopped the funds and began withdrawing the United States from the UN agency, while calling the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a “puppet of China”.
“The comments are false and unacceptable and without any basis, for that matter,” WHO chief Tedros said Thursday in response to a question at a Geneva briefing about the comments reported by Pompeo.
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According to the Times and Daily Telegraph, Pompeo said Tuesday at a private meeting of parliamentarians in London that the WHO had become a “political” body, claiming that its decisions were influenced by an agreement reached between Tedros and China that helped him. to become The head of the body.
“When the time came, when it really mattered more,” people died “from the agreement that was made,” Pompeo said.
Responding further to the indictment, for which the Trump administration has offered no evidence, Tedros said the “only focus … of the entire organization is on saving lives. The WHO will not be distracted by these comments and we do not want the entire community international also to be distracted “.
He also reiterated a previous warning that one of the greatest threats in the current crisis is the “politicization of the pandemic.”
‘Firmly focused on saving lives’
WHO technical director COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, who is a US citizen, also rejected on Thursday the charges brought against the UN agency.
“I have never been so proud to be the WHO,” she said.
“I see first-hand every day the work that Dr. Tedros does … that our teams do around the world,” he said, insisting that the entire organization was “firmly focused on saving lives.”
At Thursday’s press conference, Tedros also emphasized the importance of individual responsibility in the global attempt to stop the spread of the virus, pointing to a series of new outbreaks associated with nightclubs and social gatherings.
“We are asking everyone to address the decisions about where they are going, what they are doing and who they are with as life and death decisions,” he said.
“It may not be your life, but your choices could be the difference between life and death for someone you love or for a complete stranger,” he added. “Don’t expect someone else to keep you safe. We all have a role to play in protecting ourselves and others.”
An advanced WHO team has been in China for almost two weeks, organizing an international mission led by the WHO to investigate the origins of the virus. Scientists believe it emerged in a food market in the central city of Wuhan late last year.
“We are already beginning to communicate with experts internationally to see who will be available and what is most appropriate to support an international mission in the coming weeks,” Mike Ryan, WHO’s chief emergency expert, said at the briefing.
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