GENEVA: France and Germany expressed political and financial backing for the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its fight against the coronavirus on Thursday, with Berlin saying it would contribute a record €500 mil (RM2.41 bil) in funding this year.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking at a news conference in Geneva, said the agency, criticised by the United States for being slow off the mark in tackling the pandemic, was getting the financial and political support it needed.
US President Donald Trump said last month that the United States was cutting ties with the “China-centric” WHO, but he has still not formally notified the UN agency.
The United States is the biggest overall donor to the Geneva-based WHO, contributing more than US$400 mil (RM1.7 bil) in 2019, roughly 15% of its budget.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the €500 mil was the “highest amount that we have ever donated” to the WHO.
“We need a strong, transparent and accountable WHO today more than ever,” he said. “A WHO able to lead and coordinate the global response effort.”
France said it would give €90 mil to a WHO research centre in Lyon as well as an additional contribution of €50 mil.
“I truly believe the world needs, more than ever, a multilateral organisation,” French Health Minister Olivier Veran said. “I believe the world cannot get rid of partners. We need a global answer (to Covid-19) and only the WHO can provide that answer.”
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
More than 9.44 million people have been reported to have been infected by the coronavirus globally and 481,672 have died so far.
European governments are working with the United States on plans to overhaul the WHO, a top European health official said last week, signalling that Europe shares some of the concerns that led Washington to say it would quit. – June 25, 2020, Reuters
