1ClassyLady 68F
3114 posts
4/13/2020 8:00 pm
Trump announces U.S. will halt funding for WHO over coronavirus response


US president and supporters have accused organization of being biased towards China

Senior officials at the W.H.O. have pushed back at calls by Donald Trump to withhold funding from the organization, and by Trump’s supporters for the resignation of its head, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“We are still in the acute phase of a pandemic, so now is not the time to cut back on funding,” Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO regional director for Europe, told a virtual briefing in response to a question about Trump’s remarks.

Asked about Trump’s remarks at the WHO daily briefing in Geneva, Tedros declined to address the issue directly. “I don’t think that’s necessary,” he said. “We shouldn’t waste time pointing fingers. We need time to unite … Let’s unite … The worst is yet to come if we don’t rush to ensure unity.”

The row came as the US recorded its highest toll from the virus in a single day, with more than 1,800 coronavirus deaths. Trump and key Republican supporters and sympathetic media outlets have recently escalated a months-long campaign accusing the WHO of being biased towards China, and demanding a congressional investigation.

The latest flare-up, which appears designed to distract attention from Trump’s record during the outbreak, has fueled concerns among WHO insiders that the campaign could dangerously undermine confidence in the organizations advice at a crucial time.

Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak, has begun to return to normal life, raising fears among some US rightwingers that China’s economic recovery could steal a march while the US is in the midst of its own outbreak.

Trump said the WHO had been “wrong about a lot of things” and threatened to put a hold on WHO funding. When asked if that was a good idea during a pandemic, Trump denied having made the threat and then said his officials would “look at it”.

“We’re going to investigate it, we’re going to look at it. But we will look at ending funding, yeah, because you know what, they called it wrong, and if you look back over the years even, everything seems to be very biased toward China.”

David Nabarro, the WHO’s special envoy for Covid-19, told the Guardian that while it was inevitable that “institutions, governments and individuals” would be held accountable for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic, that needed to take place after the crisis was over.

“The world is in the middle of an extraordinary and epic struggle against a virus that is completely new,” he said. “With something like this each decision that we make is closely examined – as it should be … But for now I would suggest we wait until the time the emergency subsides, when of course there will be inquiries, and individuals, governments and institutions are scrutinized.”

“We are trying to combine science and risk-assessment as we connect with the people who are making really tough decisions. They need to be able to trust us and have confidence in us.”

Senior African leaders came out strongly in support of the WHO.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, which brings together 55 of the continent’s states, said on Twitter that he was surprised to learn of an anti-WHO campaign by the US and stressed the organization's support for Tedros.

A number of prominent figures associated with Trump have been involved in the campaign against the WHO, which has been criticized for its handling of major disease outbreaks in the past, including the 2014 Ebola outbreak in west Africa.

They include John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser; the Florida Republican senator Rick Scott and the Republican congressman Guy Reschenthaler, who introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives on Tuesday calling for the US to defund the WHO unless Tedros resigns and the organization is investigated over its treatment of China during the pandemic.

The onslaught has been echoed on social media, sometimes with racially offensive imagery against the Ethiopian official. The criticism brings together a series of rightwing preoccupations including a distrust of UN bodies, pro-Taiwan activism, and a fear that China’s economy could recover before that of the US.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/15/2020 7:15 pm

"We will have many body bags': WHO chief hits back at Trump for politicizing coronavirus.

The director-general of the W.H.O., Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned world leaders to not politicize the response to Covid-19, saying doing so will lead to more deaths. Tedros used the words "many body bags" to Trump, he is a moron. Of course, Trump will halt the donations to W.H.O. Tedros should regret what he said that irritated Trump. Tedros apologize is too late. Trump will stop any donation and I think Bill Gates will also stop any donation to W.H.O. Microsoft chairman and founder, Bill Gates is the richest man and a philanthropist in the world. Mr. Gates praised Taiwan did a good job to prevent coronavirus.

Tedros scouted Trump politicized this virus will have many body bags in order to brown nose to China. That is a BIG mistake. He will be kicked out of W.H.O.

Tedros made-up fake story that Taiwanese are racists called him N word without any evidence. Taiwanese has been isolated from the world by China. We are minority and endure so much threat from China since 1971. Taiwanese NEVER said those words to him or any Africa countries. His lie will cause his job. The world know "Taiwan can help, Taiwan is helping". Tedros has made too many mistakes. Taiwanese is honest and kind people, the world will know.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/14/2020 5:36 pm

Trump announces U.S. will halt funding for WHO over coronavirus response

President Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. is placing a hold on funding to the World Health Organization for 60 to 90 days over its handing of the coronavirus pandemic, pending a review.

Driving the news: Trump accused the WHO of "severely mismanaging and covering up" the coronavirus crisis, adding that the U.S. "has a duty to insist on full accountability."

"With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have deep concerns whether America’s generosity has been put to the the best use possible," Trump said at a briefing in the Rose Garden.
"If we cannot trust them, if this is what we will receive from the WHO, our country will be forced to find other ways to work with other nations to achieve public health goals."

By the numbers: The WHO's 2018-2019 budget was about $6 billion, and the U.S. is by far the biggest donor of any country, contributing more than $400 million to the organization last year.

"American taxpayers provided between $400 million and $500 million per year to the WHO. In contrast, China contributes roughly $40 million a year, or even less," Trump said Tuesday.
"As the organization’s leading sponsor, the United States has a duty to insist on full accountability. One of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the WHO was its disastrous decision to oppose travel restrictions from China and other nations.”

Behind the scenes: Trump has been fuming for days about what he sees as the WHO's botched response to the pandemic and its deference to China.

"The WHO really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look," Trump tweeted last week.
Trump's national security team has rallied behind him, believing that the U.S. needed to go beyond public statements and make the WHO feel some pain for its missteps, according to officials involved in the internal discussions.
The decision also gives Trump somebody else to blame, and a way to deflect from his own missteps in handling the virus.

Details: Below are some of Trump's specific complaints, which he said led him to his decision to freeze U.S. funding:

"The WHO failed to adequately obtain, vet, and share information in a timely and transparent fashion. ... The WHO failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable."
"The WHO failed to investigate credible reports from sources in Wuhan that conflicted directly with the Chinese government’s official accounts. There was credible information to suspect human-to-human transmission in December 2019, which should have spurred the WHO to investigate."
"Through the middle of January, it parroted and publicly endorsed the idea that there was not human to human transmission happening, despite reports and clear evidence to the contrary. "
"The delays the WHO experienced in declaring a public health emergency cost valuable time, tremendous amounts of time."
"The inability of the WHO to obtain virus samples to this day has deprived the scientific community of essential data."

"The WHO has not addressed a single one of these concerns nor provided a serious explanation that acknowledges its own mistakes, of which there were many."

The backdrop: Over the past week, officials within the White House's Office of Management and Budget have been working on a menu of options for how to snub the WHO. Trump administration officials told Axios the options fall along two tracks.

The most likely route is to reprogram U.S. funding that was allocated to the WHO, moving it to other international organizations that can administer it for comparable purposes, officials said.
A more dramatic, but less likely, approach is to send a rescissions package to Congress, rescinding from the federal budget funds already allocated to WHO. A similar approach was adopted in 2017 when the U.S. cut $285 million from its funding to the United Nations.
Trump did not reveal on Tuesday which mechanism he will use to halt funding to the organization.

Context: The WHO is a United Nations agency that has 194 member states across the globe. The organization's primary role is "to direct and coordinate international health within the United Nations system," according to its website.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/13/2020 8:24 pm

USA donated 425 Million to W.H.O. but China only donated 42 Million. USA donation is China's ten times.

Microsoft Chairman and founder, Bill Gates gives $4.6bn to charity in biggest donation since 2000.

Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, has donated $4.6bn (£3.6bn) in the Microsoft founder’s biggest gift to charity since he set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gates donated 64m Microsoft shares according to a US Securities & Exchange Commission filing. The recipient of the gift was not specified but it is expected that the money will be directed to the foundation he and his wife set up in 2000 with $5bn funding to improve global healthcare and reduce extreme poverty. The foundation did not respond to requests for comment.

This year Mr. Bill Gates praised Taiwan on anti-virus achievements.



Honesty is the best policy.