President Donald J. Trump announced a decision Tuesday to halt American funding to the World Health Organization, blaming the global entity for what he perceives as its failure to respond early to the coronavirus pandemic.

The commander-in-chief accused the organization of being responsible for a “20-fold” increase in cases worldwide, and criticized it for not embracing public health measures to help contain the spread, according to The New York Times. His remarks came one day before the number of confirmed cases worldwide surpassed two million.

“Had WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China’s lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source with certainly very little death by comparison,” he said in a press conference. “This would have saved thousands of lives and avoided economic damage.”

The U.S. is the largest donor for the institution, having contributed more than $400 million to cover roughly 15% of its budget last year, according to Reuters, which reports that the organization is seeking more than $1 billion in funding to fight the pandemic.



Trump previously threatened to withold funding to WHO earlier this month, reported CNBC, and accused it at this week's press briefing of promoting disinformation from China, arguing that it is the “duty” of the U.S. as its leading funder “to insist [on] full accountability,” and says his administration plans to review the organization’s role in combating the spread.

Special WHO envoy David Nabarro said in a webinar Wednesday that recriminations of any kind should be addressed once the pandemic has passed.

“If in the process you decide you want to declare that you’re going to withdraw funding or make other comments about the WHO, remember this is not just the WHO, this is the whole public health community that is involved right now,” he said without naming the United States or Trump. “Every single person in the world is a public health worker now, everybody is taking responsibility, everybody is sacrificing, everybody is involved.”

The decision to halt funding has been met with condemnation from world leaders and medical organizations alike, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remarking in a statement that now is not the time to reduce resources or funding to WHO. “Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences.”

AMA President Dr. Patrice Harris in her own statement called it a “dangerous” action on Trump’s part. “Fighting a global pandemic requires international cooperation and reliance on science and data. Cutting funding to the WHO — rather than focusing on solutions — is a dangerous move at a precarious moment for the world. The AMA is deeply concerned by this decision and its wide-ranging ramifications, and we strongly urge the president to reconsider.”

The move comes amid mounting criticism against Trump for what many perceive as his failure to adequately address the crisis, according to The New York Times. Trump has defended his actions, particularly his decision to impose travel restrictions on China which he says [saved] “thousands and thousands of lives”. The move was opposed by WHO, which said it would do little to stop the spread of the virus.

Trump did not specify if the U.S. would permanently stop funding to the WHO.