The US president further escalated tension with the Asian giant by calling the “cover-up” of the outbreak of the new coronavirus a crime. However, it was the WHO who paid the price for this confrontation.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States will sever, with immediate effect, its relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO), due to its management of the pandemic by being deceived, it said, by the Chinese government.
“Today we will end our relationship with the World Health Organization,” said the president during a press appearance held in the gardens of the White House.
Trump argued his decision, alleging that the UN-linked body “refused to act” after Washington demanded that it undertake a series of reforms and carry out an investigation into its management of the health crisis.
In fact, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on May 18 that the organization would undergo an independent evaluation of its management, although he noted that it would not occur until the pandemic had been left behind, a decision which received the support of the majority of member states of the organization.
The White House had already ordered, on April 14, to suspend the US financial contribution, which is around 400 million dollars a year, waiting for the WHO to bow to its demands.
Today, Trump said that this money will go to other “urgent health needs around the world, that deserve it”, without going into details.