Geneva – The World Health Organization said on Friday it was reviewing its priorities in preparation for the withdrawal of its biggest donor, the United States, and stressed that it provides vital services that protect the country from health threats. President Trump signed the executive order on Monday directs US to recall from the WHO, a body he has repeatedly criticized for its treatment of Pandemic of the coronavirus infection covid-19.
“This announcement has made our financial situation more acute, and we know it has caused considerable concern and uncertainty for the WHO workforce,” the organization's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a letter sent on Thursday and seen AFP on Friday.
He stressed that the United Nations health agency regretted the decision of the US leader – the agency's largest donor to date – and hoped that “the new administration will reconsider it.”
Jean Biziman / Reuters
“We are open to participating in a constructive dialogue to preserve and strengthen the historical relationship between the WHO and the United States,” he said.
Which press secretary, Christian Lindmeier, stressed to journalists on Friday that, according to the agency, the US withdrawal would be a mistake.
“Who protects the US with a sophisticated public health system that works to detect, characterize and assess threats in real time,” he said. In particular, he pointed to the current outbreak of avian influenza (H5N1), which has infected dozens of people and claimed one life in the US
“We actually have people reaching out to us already saying that this could be a problem because the data is no longer going forward and they can't share it,” Lindmeier said.
In his letter, Tedros stressed that the UN agency will now have to seek to identify his “key priorities”.
“We are looking at what activities are prioritized with reduced resources,” he said.
He emphasized that WHO has recently expanded its funding base and will continue to rely on strong support from its member states and other sources.
But he recognized the need to “reduce costs and implement efficiency gains.”
Among other things, he said the agency is “freezing recruitment except in the most critical areas” and has sharply cut travel costs.
The U.S. withdrawal will take a year, and U.S. funding will remain in place during that period, according to the organization's rules. But Mr Trump's order also instructed US federal government officials to stop working with the group – something US health officials do on a wide range of health issues of global concern.
Earlier this week, CBS News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. John Lapuk said health experts were already worried about the consequences of a US withdrawal.
“Public safety experts are all over the world,” Lapuk said.
While there are other ways to communicate, such as the medical society and individuals, Lapuk said it's “nice to have a coordinated effort.”
A statement from the White House on Monday night said the US was withdrawing from the WHO “due to the organization's mishandling of the pandemic, which is originated from WuhanChina and other global health crises, its failure to implement necessary reforms and its failure to demonstrate independence from the undue political influence of WHO member states.”