This archive report was first published on 19 May 2020.
WHO Faces Virus Probe After Trump Threat ¶
May 18, 2020 - Geneva, Switzerland
World Health Organization (WHO) member states have agreed to launch an investigation into its coronavirus response, following a threat by US President Donald Trump to quit the UN agency and brand it a 'puppet of China'.
Trump has been at odds with Beijing over allegations that China covered up the initial COVID-19 outbreak in central China late last year, leading to widespread death and economic devastation across the planet.
Under pressure at home in the United States, which has far more virus cases and deaths than any other country, Trump has also targeted the WHO with accusations that it failed to do enough to combat the initial spread of the disease.
‘They’re a puppet of China, they’re China-centric to put it nicer,’ Trump said at the White House on Monday, before threatening to make permanent a temporary freeze on US funding to the body.
Beijing and Moscow have hit back at Trump, accusing him of trying to damage the WHO for political ends.
With the row threatening the global response to the pandemic, WHO countries adopted a resolution calling for an ‘impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation’ of the international response, and the measures taken by the agency.
Both the United States and China voted for the resolution, brought by the European Union at the WHO’s annual assembly, despite earlier fears that the tensions might make a full consensus impossible.
More than 318,000 people have died of COVID-19 out of over 4.8 million infections worldwide since its emergence, and governments are scrambling to contain the virus while seeking ways to resuscitate their economies.
