The World Health Organisation announced Friday that it was assessing its priorities in preparation for the loss of its greatest donor, the United States, and emphasised that it offers critical services that safeguard the country from health hazards.
Trump signed an executive order on Monday withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organisation, which he has repeatedly lambasted for its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak.
“This announcement has made our financial situation more acute, and we know it has created significant concern and uncertainty for the WHO workforce,” the organisation’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a letter sent to WHO staff Thursday and seen by AFP on Friday.
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He emphasised that the UN health agency lamented the United States’ decision — by far its largest donor — and hoped “the new administration will reconsider it”.
“We are open to engaging in constructive dialogue to preserve and strengthen the historic relationship between WHO and the USA,” he said.
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier stressed to reporters Friday that the US withdrawal would be a mistake.
“WHO protects the US with a sophisticated health intelligence system that works to detect, characterise and assess threats in real time,” he said.
He specifically mentioned the current bird flu outbreak (H5N1), which has infected hundreds and killed one person in the United States.
“We did have, actually, individuals contacting us already about the concern that this might now be a problem, as data are not coming forward any more and may not be shared,” Lindmeier said.
Tedros meanwhile highlighted in his letter that the UN agency would now need to seek to identify its “key priorities”.
“We are reviewing which activities to prioritise with a reduced resource envelope,” he said.
He stated that the WHO has recently increased its financing base and would continue to rely on strong support from member states and other sources.
He did, however, accept the need to “reduce costs and realise efficiency gains”. Among other things, he stated that the agency was “freezing recruitment, except in the most critical areas” and drastically reducing travel expenses.
