President Donald Trump is holding true to his promise to withhold funds from the World Health Organization, instead redirecting those contributions to other health-focused groups, reports The Hill.
“For every contract or dollar flowing today, we’re just taking WHO off the table,” Jim Richardson, director of foreign assistance at the State Department, said in a press briefing Wednesday. “We’re going to provide that assistance to these other organizations in order to get the job done. Our system simply can’t wait.”
“At the end of the day, this should be about saving lives, not about saving a bureaucracy,” he added.
Trump issued instructions for his administration to halt funding to the WHO, citing the organization’s culpability in opposing travel bans as the coronavirus started to spread outside of China.
"One of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the WHO was its disastrous decision to oppose travel restrictions from China and other nations," Trump said. "They were very much opposed to what we did. Fortunately, I was not convinced and suspended travel from China, saving untold numbers of lives. Thousands and thousands of people would have died.
"Had other nations likewise suspended travel from China countless more lives would have been saved. Instead, look at the rest of the world and look at parts of Europe. Other nations and regions who follow WHO guidelines and kept their borders open to China accelerated the pandemic all around the world.”
The U.S. has contributed $893 million to the WHO’s operations during its two-year funding cycle. China has given about $86 million over the same period.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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