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The crown conflict between Donald Trump and the World Health Organization (WHO) is escalating! The President of the United States dropped the bomb Tuesday night during Corona’s daily press conference at the White House: “We will suspend our contributions to the WHO.”
Trump had already threatened this step a week ago, so now he is taking it seriously. “As we review the role that WHO has played in poorly managing and hiding the spread of the coronavirus, no more money will flow,” the president said Tuesday. Trump criticized the WHO for being “China-focused” and described it as a “catastrophic decision” that the Geneva-based organization had not previously recommended travel restrictions for China.
Background: With the so-called “China stop” in late January, the President of the United States defends his crown policy, which has been heavily criticized. This measure is intended to serve as evidence of the President’s alleged “perfect crown policy”. The fact is: restrictions on entry against the Chinese were the first, and until mid-March, the only notable American measure against the spread of the coronavirus. Democrats criticized the restrictions in late January as “xenophobic,” but have since backtracked.
“It’s not about money”
Trump also cuts China’s stop in his speech Tuesday night. This would have “saved thousands upon thousands of lives”. At the same time, he accuses the WHO of “fighting” against him due to travel regulations. Trump even goes so far as to blame the organization for a “20-fold” increase in cases worldwide.
The investigation of the government of the EE. USA On alleged WHO misconduct should take 60 to 90 days. “It is not about money,” says Trump. In response to a journalist’s question about whether Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, had to resign, the President of the United States replied: “I don’t know the Lord. Now we are doing this research », then look further.
VIEW ranks Trump’s strategy
Trump’s decision is not a surprise as he had threatened to freeze payments seven days ago. In the past week, he has reinforced his rhetoric against the World Health Organization and China. He repeatedly accused the Chinese of withholding important data and first of concealing the new virus. Trump is not alone in this: Other experts and politicians have made the same accusations against China. And it is also true that the WHO had publicly defended Beijing for a long time.
But the fact is also that the President of the United States has not always expressed this opinion. Compared to what he said a month ago, the current criticism is a radical change. On February 10, Trump said that everything related to the corona virus was “under control” and that the CDC health agency was working with the WHO, everyone was doing a “fantastic job.” On February 24, Trump also wrote on Twitter: “The corona virus is very well controlled in the United States. We are in contact with each and every relevant country. CDC and WHO worked very smart and hard. ”
The turnaround comes after mounting criticism of Trump’s crown policy. In recent days, journalists from various US media have meticulously exposed the government’s alleged misconduct in the crown crisis. A piece in the “New York Times” received special attention on Sunday. It documents how Trump reportedly removed Corona’s warning over Corona’s warning in January, February, and March. Until he could no longer ignore her.
The fact is that: in January, February and until mid-March, the President of the USA. USA He constantly downplayed the dangers of Covid-19 and repeatedly pointed out that everything was under control. Meanwhile, Trump went on to say that the corona virus was “a joke” and that it would “miraculously disappear” in April.
Why does WHO always praise China?
Trump once again made two main criticisms of the WHO on Tuesday: The organization is said to have acted “too slow” and too “friendly to China.” But already in late January, the WHO warned of an “international health emergency” due to the increasing number of infections in China. “In the weeks that followed, WHO made recommendations as prayer wheels, offered support and warned Member States to prepare for this crisis in due course. Not everything was perfect, but so far WHO is doing a good job in general, “said Olaf Wientzek, head of the Geneva office of politician Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, to SEE last week.
The WHO repeatedly praises China because organizations in such crises depend on the cooperation of their member states. “Therefore, WHO leadership is generally reluctant to directly criticize Member States and is rather appreciative,” says Wientzek. “This not only affects China, although I think the praise was sometimes too exuberant.”
In fact, Trump has already received praise. And this at a time when he was just beginning to understand how serious the situation was. On March 25, WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus said Trump was doing a “great job” using public and private resources to combat the pandemic. However, compared to China, this did not keep the President of the United States in line.
What the WHO says about the allegations
So far, the WHO has not commented on the White House news. Last Wednesday, a day after Trump’s threat, WHO chief Ghebreyesus was still fighting. He countered Trump’s criticism with a dramatic appeal. Abusing the coronavirus for political ends was the most damaging thing that could happen now, he said. “It is a game with fire.” Now it is about national unity, working across ideological and partisan borders and, finally, international solidarity. “The worst is yet to come if we do not rush to guarantee unity.”
Then Ghebreyesus spoke figuratively, exacerbating his tone. “Only the unit helps now if you don’t want to risk many more body bags.” Trump’s criticism that the WHO fell asleep in the pandemic was not accepted by the WHO chief. He recalled that his organization had been giving its member states comprehensive warnings about the emerging danger since early January.
The WHO, based in Geneva, is the principal health agency of the United Nations. According to the organization, less than a quarter of its budget consists of mandatory contributions from member states.
The United States is the largest payer in this group: Almost $ 116 million is owed for 2020 and 2021, respectively. China’s contribution for these two years is around $ 57 million each. China’s contributions have increased significantly in recent years: in 2018 and 2019, they were still at $ 37.9 million each, while remaining almost the same in the United States. Germany currently has to pay $ 29 million a year.
According to the WHO, the amount of membership fees depends on the size of the population and the prosperity of the country.
Trump wants to loosen the closure “soon”
In addition to criticism from the WHO, Trump also talks about a possible end to the shutdown on Tuesday night. Some states may lift their restrictions on public life before the end of the month, but it would take longer in other more severely affected states, Trump said. There will be a corresponding announcement shortly.
The government-recommended protection measures in Washington from mid-March currently apply until the end of April. Trump wants to loosen the restrictions as soon as possible to stem the already dramatic decline in the US economy. According to Johns Hopkins University, there were approximately 600,000 known infections in the United States. USA Tuesday night (local time). About 25,000 people have died as a result of the infection in the United States.
