Bill Gates Condemns Donald Trump For Suspending WHO Funding

Bill Gates has condemned Donald Trump’s decision to suspend the US’s funding to the World Health Organization. 

With the on-going health crisis, the WHO need all the funding they can get in a bid to tackle the pandemic, yet Trump deemed it reasonable to suspend the country’s huge $400 million funding to the organization.

Following the US President’s decision, tech mogul Bill Gates has spoken out deeming it ‘as dangerous as it sounds’.

Taking to Twitter today, April 15, Gates said:

Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds. Their 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.

Prior to his decision to cut funding to the WHO, Trump accused it of ‘failing its basic duty’ and claimed it had attempted to cover up the outbreak when it first took place in China.

America had already slashed their funding to the WHO back in February from $122.6 million to $57.9 million.

He said:

Today I am instructing my administration to halt the funding to the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus. Everybody knows what’s going on there.

American taxpayers provide between $400 million to $500 million per year to the WHO; in contrast China contributes roughly $40 million a year, and even less, as the organization’s leading sponsor, the United States, has a duty to insist on full accountability.

One of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the WHO was it’s disastrous decision to oppose travel restrictions from China and other nations. There were very much opposed to what we did; fortunately I was not convinced and suspended travel from China saving untold numbers of lives – thousands, and thousands of people who have died.

Despite Trump’s comments on China’s funding, according to the WHO, China in fact contributed around $76 million in assessed contributions, along with $10 million in voluntary funding between 2018 and 2019.

In regards to Trump’s modesty of believing he’s saved ‘thousands, and thousands’ of lives, there has still been over 26,000 deaths in the US, 10,000 of which are reported to be in New York alone.

It’s important everyone comes together in this time of crisis with the pandemic continuing to take lives across the world everyday, rather than countries like the US retracting its contributions to the WHO’s efforts.