Trump and the World Health Organization: A Dangerous Game

To divert attention away from his own errors, the U.S. president wants the world to believe that China and the WHO are responsible for the tragedy that has descended upon his country.

During the pandemic, the demolition work continues. Like a train going full speed ahead with faulty brakes, Donald Trump is unable to stop himself. His fellow citizens are waging a desperate war to stem the spread of a virus that has killed more people in the United States than anywhere else, the world’s leading economy is collapsing, and virtually everyone on the planet has fallen prey to a health crisis which has already had an impact on more than 2 million people. But the president of the United States can find nothing better to do than suspend the country’s funding to the World Health Organization, the very institution tasked with coordinating the pandemic response.

With some $500 million allocated in 2019, the United States is the largest contributor to the WHO, both by assessed and voluntary contributions, the latter of which fund special projects. These amounts were equivalent, in 2018, to 22% of the organization’s budget.

The WHO’s handling of the coronavirus crisis is far from beyond reproach. As Le Monde’s investigative reporting has shown since January, China managed to influence some of its decisions and delay announcements regarding human-to-human transmission of the virus that would likely have saved lives had they been communicated sooner. Ironically, Taiwan, a country excluded from the WHO due to its anti-Beijing stance, has implemented an exemplary strategy to combat the epidemic. But the time for taking stock will come later on. President Trump is in no position to decide to punish the WHO on the grounds that it “severely mismanag[ed]” the pandemic and “cover[ed] up” the spread of COVID-19, since he himself claimed that the situation was under control in the United States – until it became impossible for him to deny the obvious.

The Worst Idea

Interrupting funding to the WHO in the midst of combating a world health crisis is the worst idea that a political leader could possibly have. For philanthropist and former Microsoft boss Bill Gates, whose foundation is the second largest contributor to the WHO after the United States, and who recently donated $100 million to fund the development of vaccines and treatments for the virus, President Trump’s decision is “as dangerous as it sounds.” Gates tweeted that the WHO’s work “is slowing the spread of COVID-19 and if that work is stopped no other organization can replace them. The world needs @WHO now more than ever.”

The European Commission also condemned the decision: “Now is the time to show solidarity, not undermine multilateral cooperation.”* Trump abhors multilateralism and, to divert attention away from his own errors of judgment, wants his supporters to believe that China, the original site of the outbreak, and the WHO are responsible for the tragedy that has descended upon America. After treating the threat of the coronavirus with indifference, Trump, who never averts his eyes from the upcoming presidential election on Nov. 3, today appears nervous as he holds endlessly long daily briefings on the crisis, stokes tension, and clashes with state governors. That wasn’t enough for him. Today, by weakening international cooperation a little more to serve his own interests, he’s putting the entire world at risk.