Newly inaugurated president accuses UN public health agency of ‘mismanagement’ during the Covid-19 pandemic and demanding ‘unfairly burdensome payments’ from the United States
The American president, signed, this Monday (20), after being sworn in as president, a decree for the United States to leave the an institution he previously attacked for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. When signing the decree at the White House, Trump said that the United States unfairly pays more than China to the UN body, and added: the WHO “robbed us”.
The United States, the country that is the main donor to the WHO, based in Geneva, provides vital funding, which maintains the organization’s diverse operations. His departure is expected to trigger a significant restructuring of the institution and could cause disruptions to global health initiatives.
In his executive order, Trump instructs federal agencies to “pause future transfers of United States government funds, support, or resources to the WHO,” and urges them to “identify credible and transparent U.S. and international partners to undertake the necessary activities previously undertaken by the WHO.” WHO”. The new Trump administration also announced plans to review and rescind the Joe Biden administration’s health initiative, known as the 2024 Global Health Security Strategy, designed to respond to infectious disease threats, “as soon as possible.”
In Trump’s first term, the United States issued a notice of attempted withdrawal from the WHO, accusing the organization of being influenced by China in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The decision to leave (the WHO) weakens the influence of the United States, increases the risk of a deadly pandemic and makes us more vulnerable”, criticized Tom Frieden, a former senior health official in the Barack Obama administration, in a post on X .
The country will lose privileged access to very important epidemiological surveillance data, several experts warned, which could undermine its capabilities to prevent and monitor health threats abroad. American health agencies and pharmaceutical companies also depend on the WHO “to have the data needed to develop vaccines and treatments”, highlighted Lawrence Gostin, professor of public health law at Georgetown University.
“Instead of being the first to receive vaccines, we will be at the end of the line. The departure of the WHO leaves a deep wound in the security of the United States and in our competitive advantage in the area of innovation”, he lamented in exacerbates fears of a new pandemic. In early January, the United States registered the first case in a human being related to the H5N1 virus.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Victor Oliveira
