American Medical Association: Trump’s halting of WHO funding is “a dangerous step”

(Screenshot from The Hill's website)

After US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would halt US funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Medical Association (AMA), the nation’s largest association of physicians, immediately called on him to reconsider his decision, which they describe as “a dangerous step in the wrong direction”, according to a report by The Hills.

“During the worst public health crisis in a century, halting funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) is a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier,” AMA President Patrice Harris said in a statement Tuesday.

“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,” she added. “The AMA is deeply concerned by this decision and its wide-ranging ramifications, and we strongly urge the President to reconsider.”

(Screenshot from the White House's official Twitter account)

The broadside against Trump, the article said, comes after the president said he will halt funding to the WHO while a review is conducted to “assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus”.

“The reality is that the WHO failed to adequately obtain, vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion,” Trump said at a White House briefing Tuesday.

Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, told a virtual briefing when asked about Trump’s remarks, “We are still in the acute phase of a pandemic so now is not the time to cut back on funding”.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that this is "not the time to reduce the resources for the operations of the World Health Organization or any other humanitarian organisation" in the fight against the coronavirus.