US President Donald Trump accuses the World Health Organization (WHO) of informing about the risk of the corona virus too late and of being under the control of the government in Beijing – even though China is making less contributions to the organization than the United States. Now the United States is leaving the organization. A corresponding statement has been submitted to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, a senior government official told the German press agency in Washington on Tuesday.
Guterres was informed accordingly on Monday, says his spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York. The withdrawal should therefore come into force on July 6, 2021.
The congress was informed on Tuesday of the official exit from the WHO, the leading Democrat in the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Bob Menendez, said on Twitter.
Most important lender so far
US President Donald announced at the end of May that his country’s relations with the WHO had been severed. At the end of June, the WHO announced that no official letter to end the cooperation had yet been received.
Trump shares the Geneva-based organization’s responsibility for the high number of deaths. WHO also closed the necessary reforms. The US president also accuses China of not preventing the global spread of the corona virus and threatens to face consequences.
The United States has been the WHO’s main donor to date. This year, the contributions should actually be just under $ 116 million. However, Trump froze the posts in April – and attracted international criticism.
The United States has been a member of the WHO since June 21, 1948. At that time, the US Congress’s resolution on joining the WHO stated that the United States reserved the right to withdraw, albeit with a twelve-month notice period. It is therefore also a prerequisite that the USA has paid all outstanding contributions to WHO.
Distraction from your own omissions?
Trump himself is under heavy pressure in the Corona crisis. The Republican played down the danger for a long time. Critics accuse him of wanting to distract from his own omissions with his campaign against WHO and China.
In total, according to the Johns Hopkins University in the United States, more than 130,000 people have died from coronavirus infection. Almost three million infections have now been detected. (SDA / noo)