(CN) — World leaders and health experts on Wednesday condemned President Donald Trump's decision to freeze funding for the World Health Organization, the Geneva-based global health agency coordinating the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Freezing the WHO's funds in the middle of the pandemic was lambasted as endangering lives, with the editor of The Lancet, a leading medical journal, even calling it a “crime against humanity.”
Trump's move further erodes trust between the United States and its allies in Europe, where support for American might and ideals is draining away under Trump's tenure in the White House. It comes at a dire moment for Europe, where more than 1 million people have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus and more than 84,000 people have died from Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus. Europe is deeply concerned about catastrophic outbreaks at its periphery too, in places such as Africa and the Middle East, where the WHO plays a critical role.
“There is no reason justifying this move at a moment when their efforts are needed more than ever to help contain and mitigate the coronavirus pandemic,” said Josep Borrell, the top foreign policy representative of the European Union, on Twitter. “Only by joining forces we can overcome this crisis that knows no borders.”
Europeans are staunch believers in international efforts and are flabbergasted at Trump's attacks on international institutions and treaties such as the WHO, the World Trade Organization and the Paris climate agreement.
For days, Trump has been lashing out at the WHO and accusing it of doing China's bidding by downplaying the initial outbreak of the new coronavirus after it emerged in the Chinese industrial city of Wuhan in December. At a White House briefing on Tuesday, Trump said the United States will stop sending the health agency funds while his administration reviews the agency's handling of the pandemic.
“President Trump’s decision to defund WHO is simply this — a crime against humanity,” said Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet, an international medical journal, on Twitter. “Every scientist, every health worker, every citizen must resist and rebel against this appalling betrayal of global solidarity.”
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft whose foundation also funds the WHO, called Trump's action “dangerous.” Gates is deeply involved in funding scientists to develop vaccines and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the WHO's second largest funder.
“Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds,” Gates said on Twitter. “Their work is slowing the spread of Covid-19 and if that work is stopped no other organization can replace them. The world needs WHO now more than ever.”
The United States is the biggest contributor to the WHO, a United Nations agency with the mission of helping nations, especially those in the developing world, fight diseases and improve health systems. Last year, the United States gave the WHO about $400 million. The U.S. is about $200 million in arrears in its contributions.
In this role, the WHO — a relatively small and underfunded agency considering its outsized task — has been catapulted to the forefront of the world's attention during this global crisis. The agency is providing advice on containing the virus and on how to treat infections. It is also working with governments, health institutions, nongovernmental entities, sports stars and celebrities and private businesses to develop drug treatments, vaccines, containment strategies and to spread public messaging in the fight against the virus.
The WHO has about $2.5 billion at its disposal each year — a budget comparable to a large U.S. hospital. Its funding has not significantly increased for about three decades.