US President Trump considering restoring WHO funding
In March, United States President Donald Trump decided to cut WHO funding because of their response to the pandemic and that decision has been criticized.
In April, President Donald Trump decided to cut the funding the United States provided to the World Health Organization (WHO) because of how they handled the pandemic when it started late last year in China. This Saturday, Trump used Twitter to reveal that he is considering restoring some funding to the WHO.
“Lou, this is just one of numerous concepts being considered under which we would pay 10% of what we have been paying over many years, matching much lower China payments. Have not made a final decision. All funds are frozen!,” Trump tweeted.
The WHO has been asking other countries to fill the financial gap left by the US. “The United States of America has been a long-standing and generous friend to the WHO and we hope it will continue to be so. We regret the decision of the President of the United States to order a hold in funding to the World Health Organization,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"As you know, we have given them approximately $500 million a year. We'll have a lot to say about it. China has been paying them (WHO) less than $40 million over the years and we send $300 to $500 million a year,” said Trump in April.
The decision made by Trump was criticized by global leaders. Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that “blaming does not help during the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus knows no borders” and that the WHO was already suffering funding issues. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said that he deeply regretted the US’s decision to cut funding to WHO.