YOURSAY | When world is facing a pandemic, not a time to cut WHO funding

YOURSAY | ‘Trump is looking for a scapegoat to take the blame for his own lack of timely action.’

Trump halts WHO funding over handling of coronavirus

SRMan: When the US has been the biggest overall donor to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), contributing more than US$400 million in 2019 and having voluntarily contributed much more than China to the organisation's specific programmes, one wonders if WHO would have been so foolish to support China "disinformation" and anger its biggest supporter in the process that would potentially lead to a cut-off of a crucial financial lifeline.

At this juncture, US President Donald Trump should own up and focus on tackling the pandemic which is taking a toll on his country. He should know that a head start of at least two months has been squandered since the existence of the virus was made known to the world late last year.

Trump said on Feb 29 that Washington was ready to help Iran fight the virus if its leaders requested it. The fact that he could offer the aid at that time obviously means Trump had the situation under control but apparently acted too late for his country.

If he still thinks that the head start was not enough, then think of China. It started from zero.

Chicken Rice: I normally do not agree with Trump over his erratic and unilateral views. However, I have to agree with him that WHO (Worthless Health Organisation) has directly contributed to this global disaster.

The fundamental objective of WHO has to be global public health. If WHO is not putting public health as its number 1 priority, then why do you need WHO in the first place? There are plenty of other trade-focused organisations in the world which are advocates for trade and commerce.

It is a matter of public record that WHO continued to ask countries not to close borders even after the Chinese government has officially notified WHO that human-to-human transmission of Covid-19 is possible in January. In fact, there has been evidence of human-to-human transmission as early as November in China.

Regardless of which side of the political divide you are in, the bottom line is WHO fails in its fundamental responsibility.

Melvin: WHO has far from failed to their duty - they do not run national healthcare systems. They have done a lot within their remit to spread information to states as fast as possible and dispense balanced advice, and most of all, they are subject to public scrutiny for the advice.

1. WHO runs on a scientific basis and in January warned of human-to-human transmissions, yet the US did not do much to prepare. Do you think if they advised border closures, the US would have taken heed?

2. There was plentiful evidence that closing borders selectively may not be effective as there are many routes for disease vectors to enter.

3. The economy is related to health. Manufacturing is vital to keep supplies running, and logistics is vital to ensure those supplies get where they need to be.

Here's a statement from WHO:

"Here, I ask your governments to seriously consider and reconsider steps taken to close borders and impose import/export restrictions. These measures are inhibiting the flow of desperately needed supplies and equipment, including personal protective equipment for our frontline health workforce. This is directly impacting the ability of health systems to prepare and respond."

Newday: It was interesting listening to Trump’s speech. He accused WHO of working with the Chinese to prevent much-needed medical information early on coming out to the rest of the world.

The Chinese refused WHO’s repeated requests to release live virus strains to WHO to distribute to research facilities, they relented part way by releasing the DNA sequence but that was it. China also refused repeated WHO requests to send people to China for some time.

Does that read like WHO in cahoots with the Chinese? This is all about Trump shoring up his rabid right-wing nutter supporter base.

Any rational person would have saved their view on this until after the worst of Covid-19 is over, not in the middle of this crisis. Yes, WHO could have done a better job by calling the pandemic earlier, but look at certain presidents - US and Brazil - repeatedly ignored the truth and still do.

With the benefit of hindsight, everyone could have done better.

Anonymous_1578753479289.17381578752919937: Trump has done the right thing. While many medical staff at WHO do a good job, its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and his cronies are playing politics.

Those who know UN can tell you of the bungling, waste and corruption. UN is like a failed state, though some agencies are doing a good job. Only Trump has the guts to do the right thing.

Anonymous_1527925538: I believe Trump is just making WHO a scapegoat for his own failings. After the locking down of the 11 million people in Wuhan, China on Jan 23, any responsible leader would have sat up and asked how prepared his own country is from the coronavirus.

Instead, after sealing travel from China, Trump just folded his hands and sat back. He must be probably thinking that coronavirus only carry Chinese passports!

Lovemalaysia2: Indeed, Trump is looking for a scapegoat to take the blame for his own lack of timely action.

We all heard the press conferences the WHO held. They gave correct information but Trump declared on TV that he had things under control when he in fact was doing nothing to prevent the spread of Covid-19 from Europe until it was too late.

He thought it was just a China problem. Even though he was advised by his scientists to take action earlier, he didn’t listen.

Oriole: Election year, huge unemployment, poor handling of Covid-19 - and all these are on the plate of the US president.

Of course, he needs to draw attention away from him. Trump has always blamed everybody else for his own failings. Lighting a fire elsewhere is what all bad politicians do.

We know because our politicians here have done the same for decades. - Mkini