FACTS
We reported earlier this year that the World Health Organization (WHO) may have liability because of alleged underreporting. That information and WHO’s praise for China has left many on the right furious at WHO, and Executive strategies to decimate WHOs budget.
President Trump announced that he will cut all funding to WHO.
The Left
The Left is not happy with the President’s actions and believes that the harshness and will ultimately harm the scientific and health communities.
“The WHO’s constant praise for China’s response has left many exasperated… Of course, it’s not easy being a multilateral organization whose budget has been slashed over the years and which must tiptoe around the sensitivities of some of its members. The WHO wanted to keep doors open and have access to important data and findings from Wuhan. China is also a major donor, and was, some have noted, an important backer of Tedros’s leadership… Trump, then, raises the right issue — but in the wrong way, for the wrong reasons and at the wrong time… The danger is that both his detractors and supporters will now take away the wrong message. Those inclined to dismiss anything the President says may fail to recognize how the WHO’s priorities, decision-making structure and even funding bears a more critical look in the interest of improving the organization’s credibility and ability to respond to future crises. Meanwhile, his supporters may be tempted to take their cues from Trump’s finger-pointing, fail to learn the lessons of the U.S.’s own failures and believe that blame lies far from their shores.”
Therese Raphael Bloomberg
The Right
The right has historically been wary of China, and Trump’s action against WHO bolsters dependence on any global organizations, and consequently China and the associated research labs.
“Incredibly enough, in late January, Tedros was praising Chinese officials for ‘the transparency they have demonstrated.’ A team of experts lauded China’s response after a mid-February visit to Wuhan, contributing to Beijing’s storyline that it succeeded in containing the virus where everyone else has failed. Despite the emerging consensus that China has lied about its number of cases and deaths, and despite China’s refusal to share key information about the virus, WHO hasn’t said a discouraging word about China’s actions… It’s been resolute, though, in excluding Taiwan from its workings, just as Beijing dictates. From a public health perspective, this has it exactly backward. Taiwan has proved quite adept at controlling outbreaks and got this one exactly right, in large part because it didn’t believe anything that China or the WHO said.”
Rich Lowry, Politico
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