WHO chief regrets Trump's decision to pull funding
- 4 years ago
WHO, 트럼프 대통령의 지원 중단 결정에 "유감"
The head of the World Health Organization says he regrets this week's decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to halt U.S. funding to the UN health body.
Trump said the WHO had made a "disastrous" decision to oppose travel restrictions from China when the outbreak was in its infancy.
Our Lee Seung-jae has more on the high-stakes 'blame game' taking place between Washington and the WHO
Slamming the WHO's response to the COVID-19 pandemic,... U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that the U.S. was halting funding for the UN health agency.
The head of the WHO has now responded,... expressing regret over President Trump's decision.
"The United States of America has been a longstanding and generous friend to WHO and we hope it will continue to be so. We regret the decision of the president of the United States to order a halt in funding to the World Health Organization."
He added it's through the support from the people and the government of the U.S. that the WHO works to improve the health of many of the world's poorest and most vulnerable.
With the U.S. being the WHO's biggest financial backer,... the UN health agency is reviewing the impact Trump's move will have,... saying they'll continue to work with other countries to fill any financial gaps it may face,... so it can keep working "uninterrupted".
However,... with the WHO and the U.S. at odds with each other,... the UN health agency chief warned that such division will allow COVID-19 to exploit the cracks between the two,... hinting it might slow down the fight against the virus.
The WHO chief still stressed that the focus will be on stopping the virus,... and saving lives.
As the WHO's largest single donor,... the U.S. had contributed between 400 to 500 million U.S. dollars annually to the Geneva-based agency in recent years.
President Trump's decision was met with opposition from many world leaders and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
The head of the World Health Organization says he regrets this week's decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to halt U.S. funding to the UN health body.
Trump said the WHO had made a "disastrous" decision to oppose travel restrictions from China when the outbreak was in its infancy.
Our Lee Seung-jae has more on the high-stakes 'blame game' taking place between Washington and the WHO
Slamming the WHO's response to the COVID-19 pandemic,... U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that the U.S. was halting funding for the UN health agency.
The head of the WHO has now responded,... expressing regret over President Trump's decision.
"The United States of America has been a longstanding and generous friend to WHO and we hope it will continue to be so. We regret the decision of the president of the United States to order a halt in funding to the World Health Organization."
He added it's through the support from the people and the government of the U.S. that the WHO works to improve the health of many of the world's poorest and most vulnerable.
With the U.S. being the WHO's biggest financial backer,... the UN health agency is reviewing the impact Trump's move will have,... saying they'll continue to work with other countries to fill any financial gaps it may face,... so it can keep working "uninterrupted".
However,... with the WHO and the U.S. at odds with each other,... the UN health agency chief warned that such division will allow COVID-19 to exploit the cracks between the two,... hinting it might slow down the fight against the virus.
The WHO chief still stressed that the focus will be on stopping the virus,... and saving lives.
As the WHO's largest single donor,... the U.S. had contributed between 400 to 500 million U.S. dollars annually to the Geneva-based agency in recent years.
President Trump's decision was met with opposition from many world leaders and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.