US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said a fundamental reform of the World Health Organisation is needed following its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and that the United States, WHO’s biggest donor, may never restore funding to the UN body.
“I think we need to take a real hard look at the WHO and what we do coming out of this,” Mr. Pompeo told Fox News.
“We reformed this back in 2007, so this isn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with the shortcomings of this organisation that sits inside the United Nations,” he said.
“We need a fix. We need a structural fix with the WHO.”
US President Donald Trump suspended US funding of WHO last week, accusing it of being “China-centric” and promoting China’s “disinformation” about the outbreak. WHO officials have denied this and China insists it has been transparent and open.
The United States has been the biggest overall donor to the WHO, contributing over US$400 million (S$569 million) in 2019, roughly 15 percent of its budget. Senior US officials last week told Reuters Washington could redirect these funds to other aid groups.
Mr. Pompeo said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not use his ability “to go public” when a member state failed to follow the rules. He said the WHO had an obligation to ensure safety standards were observed in virology labs in Wuhan, the epicentre of China’s initial coronavirus outbreak, and its director-general had “enormous authority with respect to nations that do not comply.
