Responses pour in after Donald Trump halts WHO funding - 'this is a crime against humanity'
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. US President Donald Trump said on April 14 2020 that he has instructed his administration to at least temporarily halt funding to the World Health Organisation over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.Trump, speaking at a White House news conference, said the WHO had “failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable”.
The global community continues to flood social media to criticise US President Donald Trump's decision to halt funding for the WHO, after he accused it of not doing enough to warn the US about coronavirus when it first emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
Trump addressed the media on Tuesday from the White House and revealed that a review into the role of the organisation in the US will be conducted. He instructed his administration to halt funding until the review was concluded.
“I am instructing my administration to halt funding while a review is conducted to assess the WHO role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus. The WHO failed in its duty and must be held accountable.”
Trump has previously been reported to have downplayed the coronavirus, spreading misinformation and of failing to heed warnings by health experts and advisers from his office.
Many are accusing him of dodging accountability for his failure and are slamming him for cutting funding in the middle of a pandemic. The US is the hardest hit country by the coronavirus, with more than 600,000 confirmed cases and over 25,000 deaths, according to a BBC report.
These are some of the views shared on Twitter:
Donald Trump just cancelled WHO funding. During a global pandemic. The man isn't just an idiot. He's a selfish, petulant, dangerous idiot who cares more about his feelings being hurt than the health of his people and the well-being of the world.
— Otto English (@Otto_English) April 15, 2020
Mr. I’m Not Responsible For Anything points an accusatory finger at WHO. Can you say scapegoating? @realDonaldTrump you are simply pathetic.
— Jasper (@JMSim70) April 15, 2020
I cannot totally support @realDonaldTrump in this @WHO case. It is sure that all of this is due to the carelessness of WHO. But cutting off its funding in this time might not be a good idea.
— Krish Gurung (@krish_gurung4) April 15, 2020
Defunding WHO during a pandemic is surely a crime against humanity. One of many the Trump administration has committed.
— Lorraine Devon Wilke (@LorraineDWilke) April 15, 2020
The funny thing being @realDonaldTrump commended @WHO in February pic.twitter.com/1UkMkOaSBE
— Olivia P. Walker (@olivia_p_walker) April 15, 2020
Blaming the WHO for his own failure. “It is just a flu” “It will go away in April”. Most stupid president in history
— Annelies Heikens (@AnnaH21534688) April 15, 2020
Trump took the most senseless & reckless decision in global history. How on earth do you cancel funding to the @WHO amidst a global pandemic? The containment of COVID-19 needs a global health alliance under WHO. USSR & US collaborated to defeat Polio & Smallpox during Cold War.
— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) April 15, 2020
Will Donald ever take responsibility as well? It’s always someone else’s fault. By the time the virus reached the US and people were calling for restrictive measures, Trump was saying it was a ploy by the democrats to make him look bad.
— Ajak 🌼☀️ (@AjakInTheBox) April 15, 2020
#Trump’s administration has suspended funding of WHO because it failed to investigate WUHAN CoronaVirus. Blame game at play, no doubt.
— Bantu Holomisa (@BantuHolomisa) April 14, 2020
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Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 