Trump will restart funding to WHO, but only give as much as China does, which is $380 million LESS than US did
President Donald Trump, who abruptly cut off America’s financial aid to the World Health Organization (WHO) a month ago after accusing it of doing little to contain the spread of the coronavirus, is mulling resumption of the same. The Republican president blasted the UN agency saying it was biased towards China and cooperated little with the US in dealing with the pandemic. Last week, too, the president reiterated his critical stand on WHO saying at town hall: “The World Health organization has been a disaster—everything they said was wrong, and they're China-centric”.
However, a leaked draft of a White House letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has indicated that the Trump administration is considering taking a U-turn on the issue of freezing funds for the health body. Washington, in fact, is about to resume funding the WHO at the same level as China, according to the five-page draft letter reported on Fox’s 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' show on Friday, May 15. The Trump administration came under serious criticism over its decision to freeze the funds.
"Despite [its] shortcomings, I believe that the WHO still has tremendous potential, and want to see the WHO live up to this potential, particularly now during this global crisis," the draft letter reads, apparently in the president’s voice. "That is why I've decided the United States will continue to partner and work with the World Health Organization," it adds. "China owes a massive debt to the entire world, and it can start with paying its fair share to the WHO. If China increases its funding to the WHO. We will consider matching those increases," the letter further added.
China raised its WHO funding after US withdraw aid
China increased its funding for WHO days after the US pulled out to support its global fight against coronavirus. It gave the agency an extra $30 million after the donation worth $20 million it made in March.
The US used to send WHO a whopping annual amount of $400 million a year, which is many times more than the funds China sent. As per the letter, the Trump administration will "agree to pay up to what China pays in assessed contributions" to the WHO.
Western intelligence reports spoke about China's pressure on WHO
Trump’s latest indications, if true, would see Washington reconsidering its China policy. Recently, the Central Intelligence Agency came up with a suspicion that China bullied the international health agency into delaying the declaration of a global health emergency in January as Beijing was stockpiling medical supplies. It reportedly threatened to stop assisting WHO’s coronavirus probe if it announced the emergency soon. The delay proved to be costly for the world, especially the US and West.
It was a second intelligence report in a week after a German intelligence document reported by Der Spiegel suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping personally put pressure on Ghebreyesus to delay the global warning. WHO though resisted such allegations.
In his show, the conservative Carlson slammed WHO saying the body and its leadership have disgraced themselves.
"Dr. Tedros Adhanom has thoroughly disgraced himself and his organization for four years, but particularly throughout this virus epidemic. Remember, the World Health Organization attacked travel restrictions ... as unnecessary and, needless to say, racist. They then spread the baldest kind of Chinese propaganda, [saying] the virus could not spread person-to-person. That killed people,” the journalist, known to be a Trum-sympathizer, said.