Washington (AFP)
US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has suspended the United States' contribution to the World Health Organization (WHO) because of its "mismanagement" of the coronavirus epidemic.
"The world has received a lot of false information about transmission and mortality" from the Covid-19, launched Mr. Trump in a long and violent indictment against this UN agency.
"Today I order the suspension of funding for the World Health Organization while a study is conducted to examine the role of WHO in the mismanagement and concealment of the spread of coronavirus," said he added from the White House gardens.
Stressing that the United States contributed "400 to 500 million dollars a year" to the organization, against about 40 million dollars "and even less" for China, Mr. Trump estimated that his country had the duty to claim accounts.
"If WHO had done its job and sent medical experts to China to objectively study the situation on the ground, the epidemic could have been contained at its source with very few deaths," he said.
For several days, the Trump administration has vehemently criticized the attitude of the Geneva-based UN agency, denouncing in particular its positions which it considers too favorable to Beijing.
Washington deplores in particular that its own measures in the face of the crisis, in particular the gradual closing of its borders, have met with "strong resistance" from the WHO, which "has continued to salute the Chinese leaders for their + disposition to share information + ".
US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the United States wants to "radically change" the way the organization works.
"In the past, the WHO has done a good job. Unfortunately, this time it has not done its best, and we must make sure to push for a radical change," he said. .
© 2020 AFP