US formally begins pullout from WHO amid COVID-19 crisis

WASHINGTON: The United States formally began its withdrawal from the World Health Organization on Tuesday after President Donald Trump doubled down on his threats to deprive the UN body of its main source of funding for its response to the coronavirus.

Public health advocates and political opponents of Trump expressed outrage at the departure of the Geneva-based body, which is leading the global fight against diseases from polio to measles and mental health, as well as COVID-19, at a time when cases have increased again. worldwide.

After threatening to suspend the $ 400 million in annual contributions from the United States and then announcing a withdrawal, the Trump administration formally sent a notice to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a State Department spokesman said.

The withdrawal of the key founding member of the WHO will take effect in one year, on July 6, 2021. Joe Biden, the alleged Democratic opponent of Trump in the November elections, promised that he would immediately end the withdrawal if he won the White House.

"Americans are safer when the United States is committed to strengthening global health. On my first day as president, I will join the WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage," Biden wrote on Twitter.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus responded to the news with a one-word tweet: "Together!" - as it joined a discussion by US health experts on how leaving the global body could impede efforts to prevent future pandemics.

In line with the conditions established when the WHO was created in 1948, the United States can leave within a year, but must meet its remaining financial obligations, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

'Total control'

In late May, Trump said China had "full control" over the WHO and accused the UN body led by Tedros, an Ethiopian doctor and diplomat, of failing to implement reforms.

Blaming China for the coronavirus, Trump, a frequent UN critic, said the United States would redirect the funds "to other global, urgent and deserving public health needs."

Democratic lawmakers have accused Trump of trying to deflect criticism of his handling of the pandemic in the United States, which has suffered by far the highest number of deaths of any nation despite the president's hope that the virus will go away.

"Calling Trump's response to COVID chaotic and inconsistent does not do it justice," said Senator Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

"This will not protect American lives or interests, but will leave Americans sick and the United States alone," he said.

Representative Ami Bera, himself a doctor, said the United States and the World Health Organization had worked "hand in hand" to eradicate smallpox and almost defeat polio.

"Our cases are increasing," Bera said of COVID-19. "If the fault lies with the WHO: why has the United States lagged behind while many countries, from South Korea to New Zealand, Vietnam and Germany are back to normal?"

Even some of Trump's Republican allies had expressed the hope that he was lobbying rather than making the final decision to leave the World Health Organization.

Investigative news outlet ProPublica reported last month that most of Trump's aides were surprised by the WHO withdrawal announcement, which he made during an appearance about China.

The Trump administration has said the WHO ignored the first signs of person-to-person transmission in China, including warnings from Taiwan, which, due to pressure from Beijing, is not part of the UN body.

While many public health advocates share some criticism of the WHO, they question what other options the global body had in addition to working with China, where COVID-19 was first detected late last year in Wuhan City.

The ONE anti-poverty campaign said the United States should work to reform, not abandon, the WHO.

"Withdrawing from the World Health Organization in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic is a surprising move that puts the safety of all Americans around the world at risk," he said.