By Agencies
The head of
the World Health Organisation says he regrets US President Donald Trump's
decision to pull funding from the agency and has called for the world to pull
together.
"The
United States of America has been a long-standing and generous friend of the
WHO and we hope it will continue to be so," WHO director-general Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.
"We
regret the decision of the President of the United States to order a halt in
the funding to the WHO."
The
comments came after Mr Trump's move to halt funding to
the WHO over its handling of the pandemic.
The US is
the largest donor to the WHO, providing more than $US400 million in 2019,
roughly 15 per cent of its budget.
"WHO
is reviewing the impact on our work of any withdrawal of US funding and we will
work with partners to fill any gaps and ensure our work continues
uninterrupted," Dr Tedros added.
Dr Mike
Ryan, WHO's top emergencies expert, said there would be opportunities in coming
weeks and months to discuss WHO's budget with its other 193 states.
Mr Trump's
decision also drew the ire of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi
on Wednesday.
Ms Pelosi
was not the only one to go on the attack over Mr Trump's decision as figures
from Johns Hopkins University showed COVID-19 infections passed 2 million
and the disease had killed over 128,000 people.
The
European Union on Wednesday said Trump had "no reason" to freeze WHO
funding at this critical stage and called for measures to promote unity instead
of division.
Trudie
Lang, a professor of global health research at Oxford University, said attempts
to hinder WHO's work could have significant consequences for the pandemic
response.
"The
reason we're making such fast progress on diagnostics, vaccines and drugs is
because of WHO's role as a neutral broker," she said.
Germany's
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pushed back against Mr Trump's rhetoric.
"The
virus knows no borders. We must work closely against COVID-19."
The
Netherlands also threw its support behind the WHO.
"Now
is not the time to hold back funding. Once the pandemic is under control,
lessons can be learned. For now, focus on overcoming this crisis,"
Sigrid
Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, said on Twitter.
Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the country was "seriously
concerned" about the US Government's decision to suspend funding.
And
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned against politicising the issue
and said he believed WHO had "acted effectively" in its handling of
the pandemic.
Earlier
Bill Gates, whose foundation was the second-largest donor to the WHO for its
latest two-year budget, contributing over $US530 million ($836 million) in 2018
and 2019, wrote that stopping funding for WHO during a world health crisis
"is as dangerous as it sounds".
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