BERITASOLO - President Donald Trump pulled the United States (US) from the World Health Organization (WHO). Trump argued, the World Health Organization was under the control of China during the handling of the covid-19 pandemic (corona virus).
Reported by the BBC, on Wednesday (07/08/2020), the US President has stated his intention since the end of May. Trump said he would withdraw from the UN body and divert funds to other places.
Currently President Trump has informed the UN and Congress of his intention, even though the process can take up to at least one year.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary general, confirmed that the US had reported about the withdrawal of his country as of July 6, 2021.
Senator Robert Menendez, the leading Democrat on the Committee on Foreign Relations, also wrote on Twitter: "Congress received a notification that POTUS officially withdrew the US from WHO amid a pandemic.
"That makes Americans sick and Americans are alone."
A senior US government official said that Washington had detailed the reforms it wanted so that WHO was directly involved with him, but then he stated that WHO had refused to act.
"Because they failed to carry out the reforms that were demanded and urgently needed, today we will cut off relations," the official said.
Joe Biden, who will challenge Donald Trump in the November presidential election, wrote on his Twitter: "On my first day as President, I will rejoin WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage."
The US is the single largest contributor to the global health agency, providing more than $ 400 million (around Rp. 5.77 trillion) in 2019 which is about 15 percent of its total budget.
Under a Congress resolution in 1948, the US could withdraw but had to give notice one year in advance and had to pay extraordinary fees, although it was unclear where Trump would support it. Dujarric stressed that these requirements must be met.
The withdrawal will question the financial viability of WHO and the future of many of its programs that promote health care and disease management.
Donald Trump first announced in April that he would stop US funding for WHO unless the agency made "substantive improvements" within 30 days.
Then at the end of May he said: "We will end our relationship with the World Health Organization and direct the funds" to other global public health charities.
"The world is now suffering as a result of the diversion of the Chinese government," he said, adding that China had "triggered a global pandemic".
Trump accused China of pressuring WHO to "mislead the world" about the virus, without providing evidence of its allegations.
"China has full control over the World Health Organization," the president said.
Other countries, including Germany and Britain, said they had no intention of withdrawing funding from WHO, which coordinates global initiatives to develop vaccines against Covid-19. (R-07)
