Halting funding for WHO during a health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds: Bill Gates

"Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds. Their work is slowing the spread of COVID-19 and if that work is stopped no other organization can replace them. The world needs @WHO now more than ever," Gates tweeted.

President Donald Trump announced that he has instructed his administration to stop US funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), which he accused of grossly mismanaging and covering up the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). 

“Today, I am instructing my administration to halt funding for the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus,” Trump said at a daily White House briefing on Tuesday evening.

Trump noted that the United States contributes to the WHO $400-500 million annually.

“Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China’s lack of transparency the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death and certainly very little death by comparison,” Trump said. “This would have saved thousands of lives and avoid the worldwide economic damage.”

The US president said WHO’s reliance on initially false data from China regarding the novel coronavirus may have caused a 20-fold increase in cases worldwide.

The United States will continue to engage with the WHO to see if the organization can implement meaningful reforms, Trump added. 

( With Sputnik inputs)