– This is a time to be together – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

On Tuesday night, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that they would freeze all payments to the WHO. The reason is that the American authorities believe that the organization has failed in the fight against the coronavirus.

WHO He commented the news at a press conference on Wednesday.

“This is a time to unite against a common and dangerous enemy,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Ghebreyesus says WHO’s efforts in the fight will be thoroughly evaluated.

– It is part of the normal process. There is no doubt that we will find areas where we can improve, he says.

Generous friend

Ghebreyesus says the United States has been a major contributor since the organization’s inception, but that they will now continue to work and cover any loss of income through other partners.

He describes the country as a “generous” and old friend of his work.

– It is regrettable that the President of the United States has decided to retain money. With the support of the WHO countries, we will continue the work of improving the health of many of the poorest and most vulnerable, says Ghebreyesus.

The WHO summit affirms that what is required to fight the virus is solidarity work despite national borders. The goal is to stop the virus and save lives.

– We study the virus all day, every day, he says.

Meets criticism

The United States is the WHO’s largest financial contributor and contributed about $ 553 million last year, according to the New York Times.

This is an important part of the organization’s $ 6 billion budget.

“The WHO has not been able to obtain, investigate and share information,” Trump said yesterday, adding that the organization had not investigated whether China’s reports were reliable.

The decision to withdraw funding has faced massive criticism from both medical experts and political authorities in several countries.

– We need more international cooperation, not less, says the Norwegian Minister of Health, Bent Høie (H).

Former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, who headed the World Health Organization (WHO) about 20 years ago, is also highly critical.

– The last thing we need now is to attack the WHO. This means weakening our very central joint global institution, Brundtland said in a statement to NTB.

The American Medical Association has also asked the president to reconsider the decision.

A betrayal

Editor-in-chief Richard Horton at the prestigious medical journal The Lancet calls it a Trump decision as a betrayal of the global dimensions.

– President Trump’s decision to stop funding the WHO is simply a crime against humanity, he says.

– All scientists, all health workers and all citizens must resist and rebel against this terrible failure of global solidarity, writes Horton. Twitter