The World Health Organization on Wednesday said it “regrets” President Trump’s decision to freeze funding for the United Nations-backed agency as the world continues to battle the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said the U.S. will halt funding to the WHO while his administration reviews its role in “mismanaging” the coronavirus crisis. He said the funds would be frozen for 60 to 90 days.
“The United States of America has been a long-standing and generous friend of the WHO and we hope it will continue to be so,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a virtual news conference.
“We regret the decision of the president of the United States to order a halt in the funding to the WHO,” the director-general said.
Mr. Trump said in his announcement that the U.S. contributes up to $400 million while superpowers such as China, where the outbreak began, contribute closer to $40 million.
The WHO, based in Switzerland, is considered the world leader in public health emergencies, such as the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has been nearly stamped out amid violent conditions.
Mr. Trump frequently criticizes multilateral organizations that cost plenty of U.S. money and recently labeled the WHO as being “China-centric.” But he has been reluctant to attack Chinese President Xi Jinping, who controls the centralized communist government in Beijing.
Mr. Tedros, an Ethiopian microbiologist, said in his remarks that the “WHO is reviewing the impact of our work of any withdrawal of U.S. funding and we will work with partners to fill any gaps and ensure our work continues uninterrupted.”
The director-general’s comments come as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases hit the sobering mark of 2 million globally. It took 83 days to reach 1 million and just 14 days to double.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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