US’ Shameful Defunding of WHO to Live in Infamy

“The world is learning what Iran has known & experienced all along: US regime's bullying, threatening & vainglorious blathering isn’t just an addiction: it kills people,” Zarif tweeted late on Wednesday.

He added, “Like ‘maximum pressure’ against Iran, the shameful defunding (of) WHO amid a pandemic will live in infamy”.

Trump said on Tuesday that the body had “failed in its basic duty" in its response to coronavirus. He has accused the WHO of making deadly mistakes and overly trusting China.

"I am directing my administration to halt funding while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization's role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus," Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

A White House statement on Wednesday said the agency had "failed" the US people.

The US is the biggest overall donor to the Geneva-based WHO. In 2019, the US contributed more than 400 million dollars to the body, roughly 15 percent of its budget.

The WHO has been leading the global fight against the pandemic. Its experts have been working to develop vaccination for COVID-19, issuing guidelines on specific measures to contain the spread of the virus, and coordinating countries’ individual efforts. The US’s freezing of its funding now risks undercutting the body’s measures as the outbreak grows in almost every country in the world.

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