Daily Mail: WHO chief says he 'regrets' Donald Trump's decision to suspend funding but reveals WHO's handling of Covid-19 will be reviewed after the pandemic
* Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 'this is a time for all of us to be united in our common struggle' over virus
* He defended the WHO's handling of the virus outbreak but said it would be reviewed by member states
* President Trump said Tuesday he will be freezing all funding from the US to the World Health Organization
* He accused the WHO of 'severely mismanaging' the pandemic, singling out the call to oppose travel bans
* China said it has 'serious concerns' about the decision, which will 'undermine cooperation against the virus'
* US is the single largest contributor to the WHO, accounting for 15 per cent of funds over the last two years
The head of the World Health Organization said today he 'regrets' Donald Trump's decision to suspend US funding for the agency and called for 'solidarity' in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
The WHO's embattled chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference that 'this is a time for all of us to be united in our common struggle' as he defended the agency's handling of the crisis.
Tedros said the WHO is 'fighting the pandemic with every ounce of our soul and spirit' and will 'continue to do that until the end' - but said its management of the disease would be reviewed by member states 'in due course'.
'We will continue to work with every country and every partner to serve the people of the world with a relentless commitment to science, solutions and solidarity,' he said.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: The reaction to President Trump's decision to cut WHO funding is not a surprise. Everyone is now jumping up and down and condemning the move. And while almost everyone is admitting that there is a problem with the World Health Organization, the consensus is that funding should not be cut in the middle of a pandemic, and that if there is a review of WHO it should only happen after the pandemic has finished. In other-words. Do this review in 2021 or 2022. If this pandemic was not causing the damage that it is right now, I would be laughing. But I am not laughing. I am angry. There will be no review in 2021 or 2022. And what is worse .... it is clear there is no desire within the international community to hold WHO officials accountable for how they failed in this disaster. People like Bill Gates, the UN Secretary General, media pundits, and politicians are yelling out loud on how bad this funding cut is .... I say where were you before this pandemic started. Where was the oversight on what WHO was doing? Where was the accountability? Was there any awareness from today's critics of President Trump on what did they know was happening in the World Health Organization before this pandemic. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donates hundreds of millions of dollars to WHO each year. Did they wonder what their money was being spent on? Did they ever inquire on how competent these people were? Did they feel comfortable that the head of WHO was not a medical doctor but he was put in that position because he had close ties and allegiances to China and despotic African governments? Apparently not.
So this is what I think will happen next. U.S. funding for WHO has been suspended for 60 - 90 days pending a review. But this review is to just buy time, because it is not hard for me to figure out what the U.S. wants. They want WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and his supporters within the organization fired and removed.
More Reaction To President Trump's Decision To Suspend WHO Funding
FACTBOX-Global reaction to Trump withdrawing WHO funding -- Reuters
Trump WHO cuts meet with furious blowback -- The Hill
'But now is not that time': UN Secretary-General rebukes Trump over plans to halt funding for WHO amid coronavirus pandemic -- Business Insider
Trump’s WHO cutoff sends officials, allies scrambling -- Politico
Bill Gates says Donald Trump is 'dangerous' for cutting $500million in funding to the WHO because the world 'needs them now more than ever' to stop the pandemic -- Daily Mail
Trump right to stop funding World Health Organization over its botched coronavirus response -- FOX News
Update: Here are some key WHO statements about coronavirus - from the first cases, through China's outbreak, and beyond - to reveal what the world's largest health body said and when as the disease spread .... No human-to-human transmission, no travel bans, but plenty of praise for Beijing: How WHO parroted Chinese lies as coronavirus pandemic unfolded (Daily Mail).
8 comments:
WNU,
Are you saying you don't like social clubs?
If some one from a non-Western country wants to work for the UN to get a better paying job after having gone to college, I'm good with that.
But they had better damn well deliver!
If they hadn't done a good job at the outset until now and the evidence clearly indicates they haven't, why continuing funding them in the middle of the crisis? So they can continue to do a poor job? It would seem the best course would be to defund and replace.
Trump made a terrible mistake early on when he placed the CDC and Dr. Birx and Fauci in charge of our response to this. He seems to have figured out now to consult with business leaders in concert with health care officials on how best to safely open our economy as expeditiously as possible understanding their comes a point of no return where if we wait to long we won't get our economy back.
If this organization is to continue and the US is going to continue being its lead contributor, the current WHO team needs to be purged and Trump and his tio advisors need to pick the new team. Frankly I have a great deal of confidence in Trunp to handle this. I do not have any confidence in the China centric WHO to contribute anything of value to this or pretty much anything else.
As for Mr. Gates, he lost all credibility with his ridiculous assertion that 10 million Americans could die from this. Such a claim is extraordinary and would require extraordinary proof. None was provided, only hysteria. In his current role with his foundation, I'd liken him to a snake oil salesman angling for funding for his organization. There may actually be something more sinister.
Turns out Bill Gates has "donated" more than $3.6 billion to the World Health Org. Pledged up to $100 million for the global response to Wuhan flu just back in February. Pledged $279M to IHME in 2017 and $13.5M in grants to the CDC foundation in 2013.
Seems his main hobby - outside of creating invasive software - is influencing world health bureaucracies.
"The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donates hundreds of millions of dollars to WHO each year. Did they wonder what their money was being spent on? Did they ever inquire on how competent these people were? Did they feel comfortable that the head of WHO was not a medical doctor but he was put in that position because he had close ties and allegiances to China and despotic African governments? Apparently not."
Oh give me a fucking break... WNU, while you continue to heap praise on Trump in your biased views (first admitting he err'ed by cutting funding, now jumping to his defense when others condemn that same move), you are having a go at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation because they didn't have the foresight or knowledge gained from their crystal ball?
And I agree completely. They, and many others, including Trump, previous administrations, should have looked at the funding levels of WHO well before any of this started. There's evidence that the WHO director may have covered up previous outbreaks too, and he's been roiled into scandal before. Are we quick to forget he wanted Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador to the WHO Organisation?
He needs to go.
But I also say cutting funding during a pandemic that has no sign of slowing down and is going to get worse, is not the right course of action.
But I just wished you were able to get your views across without seemingly coming across as if every word you utter must weight carefully as if you've got business interests to protect or are trying to advertise yourself to Trump. This blog used to be great, but the sheer Trump bias is astounding. And this is said from someone who actually wants Trump to win the next election; but the man has his faults, he ain't the pinnacle of politic godhood and when his faults shine, licking his boots ain't going to achieve much.
What pandemic?
"Oh give me a fucking break... "
Yeah, you should have that looked at. The doctor is going to have to break it and reset it.
Funding of the UN in general has been an issue for a long time. The UN is not much use in preventing a a shooting war. It cannot even stop a brush war. So WTF good is it?
The UN has the worst of e wort sit in the Human Rights commission. It is a joke.
The US pays more than its fair share and gets abuse heaped on it for its efforts.
Those are all valid issues to look into and debate.
The specific issue was that not only did the US (& Western world) pay the lion's share of the WHO, they didn't get crap for it, Not only did they didn't get anything good, but they got lies instead. It was more than just the lying, other people countries got hurt because WHO carried water for Xi & friends.
So Trump is right in cutting funding. Maybe WHO won't have the money to mimeograph flyers containing lies to hide Xi's malfeasance.
And I agree completely. They, and many others, including Trump, previous administrations, should have looked at the funding levels
Bomb the UN!
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