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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Sean Morrison

Donald Trump threatens permanent freeze of WHO funding if it doesn't make 'major changes' in 30 days

Experts are warning against taking a malaria drug as treatment of Covid-19 after Donald Trump revealed he is taking the drug (Picture: AP)

Donald Trump has threatened to permanently cut off funding to the World Health Organisation if it fails to make “major changes” within a 30 day deadline.

The US leader published his full letter to the organisation’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Mr Trump, in the letter, criticised the WHO for not doing enough, saying it "consistently ignored credible reports of the virus spreading" late last year in Wuhan.

He lambasted the WHO for repeatedly "praising" China and said the only way forward for it was to "demonstrate independence from China".

the organisation’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been given the deadline of 30 days to make 'major changes' to its response to the pandemic (World Health Organization/AFP via Getty Images)

The president added that if the WHO did not "commit to major substantive improvements", he would "make his temporary freeze of US funding permanent and reconsider our membership".

Mr Trump said in the letter, which he shared on Twitter, that he would reconsider membership of the US in the body.

"If the WHO does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the WHO permanent and reconsider our membership in the organisation,” Mr Trump said.

Last month Mr Trump instructed his administration to temporarily halt funding to the organisation over its handling of the pandemic.

The US President said the WHO had "failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable” as the crisis continues to grip the world.

He said the group had promoted China's "disinformation" about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak of the virus than otherwise would have occurred.

The WHO said a review of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic would be launched "at the earliest appropriate moment”.

It said the independent evaluation will "review experience gained and lessons learned" during the pandemic.

The organisation has faced criticism over its response to the coronavirus outbreak but director general Dr Tedros said the global health body “sounded the alarm early, and we sounded it often”.

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