The U.S. has not withheld funding from the World Health Organization despite pledges by President Donald Trump to do so in May, a spokesman for the WHO told The Hill.
Trump on May 29 said the U.S. would terminate its relationship with the organization over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
"We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engaged with them directly, but they have refused to act," the president said from the White House at the time. "Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating the relationship."
The U.S. is the largest source of financial support for the WHO, and has provided roughly 15%, or $893 million, of the organization's total funding over its current two-year budget period.
Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's health emergencies program, said the agency is still working with the U.S.
"We rely heavily on our colleagues and institutions in the U.S. like CDC, like NIH and like the hundreds of collaborating centers that this organization has across the United States," Ryan said during a press briefing Monday. "We will continue to do that until we are otherwise instructed or informed."
More than 2 million people have been infected with COVID-19 in the U.S., and nearly 114,000 have died.
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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