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Trump said the United States would soon announce plans to fund the World Health Organization after accusing the agency of being “a Chinese puppet.”
“The World Health Organization (WHO) is a Chinese puppet,” US President Trump said on Fox & Friends on May 8. “We pay WHO more than anyone else. And I rebuke our politicians. To be honest, our politicians have put in a lot of effort,” he said.
The President of the United States said that because of this, Washington will soon consider and make decisions related to funding plans for the WHO.
US President Trump at the White House on 4/30. Photos: Reuters
Trump announced in April a budget cut for the WHO because it colluded with Beijing, hiding the seriousness of Covid-19 in China, leaving many countries wasting valuable time preparing. deal with and delay travel restrictions. He emphasized that the United States spent $ 450 million on WHO, while China contributed $ 38 million.
Speaking after Trump threatened to cut the budget, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he regretted it and stated that “the United States has been a generous friend of WHO for a long time,” hoping to Washington keep it. this
Professor Nahid Bhadelia, an infectious disease expert at Boston University in the United States, said the withdrawal of the WHO budget was “no different from a disaster.” Democrats also criticized President Trump’s decision, warning that it could complicate global efforts to contain the disease.
The United States contributes about 22% of the WHO budget with funds transferred through various agencies. In recent years, WHO has received money from the State Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Agency for International Development. Most of the money is used to carry out campaigns to eradicate polio and to provide medical and nutritional support for Africa.
More than 210 countries and territories appeared as Covid-19 after the outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019, leaving more than 4 million infected and more than 276,000 dead. The United States is currently the world’s largest epidemic region with more than 1.3 million infections and almost 79,000 deaths.
Mai Lam (The O NYTimes)
