His accusations against the WHO are new, his threats more violent. US President, Donald Trump wants a other WHO – and fast. The message from Washington overshadowed the annual meeting of the organization.
Washington/Geneva (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has accused the world health organization (WHO), “China bondage” and in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, with outlet threatened.
Should not undertake the WHO within the next 30 days to “significant improvements”, will he the U.S. payments to the organization, permanently set, and the membership of the USA in the organization of rethink, said in a Letter Trumps to the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The Organisation initially responded to the violent threats from the White house.
This is the 194 member countries of the languages you at the annual meeting in Geneva, your confidence, and demanded in a Resolution “global, timely and equitable access and distribution” of vaccines and drugs against the disease Covid-19, which can be triggered by the new Coronavirus. Poorer countries fear that rich countries use at first only of their own population. The head of the organization in its address directly to Trump. “We welcome any Initiative to strengthen the WTO,” said Tedros. “But now we must focus on to combat the pandemic with everything we have available to us, and to save lives.”
Trump published the letter on Monday evening (local time) after the first day of the virtual annual Assembly of the WHO member countries, to which he himself had not participated. He accuses the WTO of China-hearing. China’s President Xi Jinping had called for the opening of the WHO meeting to greater support of the WHO and the provision of an additional two billion dollars (€1.85 bn) Corona-aid for poorer countries announced.
On Tuesday, Trump said in the White house, with a view to the WHO: “you need to do a better Job. You need to other countries, including the United States, much fairer be.”
The U.S. President had already initiated a month ago, a preliminary adjustment of the US payments to the WHO and international criticism drawn. He makes the organization for the high number of deaths in the Corona-crisis is partly responsible, and described the Geneva-based specialized Agency of the UN as a “puppet” of China.
Now he WHO agreed again to an “alarming lack” of independence from China. The WHO had failed to provide credible Reports to investigate, which of course would be in direct contradiction to the representation of Beijing, it said in his letter. In addition, the WHO Taiwan have not shared information about a possible Transmission of the Virus from person to person, without delay, with the Rest of the world and the “probably for political reasons”.
In the crisis in the USA already more than 90,000 people have died after a Corona-infection, is the President himself under severe pressure. The Republicans had played the risk of the Coronavirus to the public for a long download. An accusation that he was opposed to the WHO, is also directed against him: to have China at the end of January, and for the transparency in connection with the outbreak praised.
In a Tweet from the 24. January had written Trump: “China has worked very hard, the Coronavirus is from the curb. The United States appreciates your efforts and transparency.” In his letter to Tedros, on the contrary, now: “China was anything other than transparent.”
What Trump presents concrete under the required “significant” changes to the WHO, remains vague. The WHO needs to show independence from China, he urged. His government had already started discussions about a Reform of the organization. “But it must be taken quickly. We have no time to lose.” He could not allow that the money of U.S. taxpayers to Finance an organization that does not have American interests to serve.
in Spite of the criticism of the approach taken in Trumps, there are demands for reform of the WHO is currently not only in the United States, as on the occasion of the annual meeting showed. The WHO needs to become more independent from the influence of individual States and, in its coordinating function more kidney said about the Federal Minister of health, Jens Spahn.
the WHO is The most important specialized Agency of the United Nations in the field of health. Your Budget derives mainly from donations and just less than a quarter of the mandatory contributions of the member States. The United States are in this district is the largest payer For the years 2020 and 2021, almost 116 million U.S. dollars, respectively, are due. China’s contribution for these two years at around $ 57 million. Add to this the voluntary contributions, amounting in the case of the USA, according to the WHO, in the years 2018 and 2019 to a total of more than $ 656 million. China came to more than 10 million US dollars.
German foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) praised the decision of the WHO in Geneva: “This is a great success and an important sign of our international unity in the fight against the Coronavirus.” So far, there is neither medication nor a vaccine. The Resolution also calls for an independent investigation of how the world and the WHO on the Corona-threat responded. Neither the United States nor China raised objections. However, distance to the USA and later by some formulations in the Resolution.
web page of the conference
trump’s Tweet with the letter
the WHO Budget information
