Last updated: Tuesday June 02, 2020 KSA 20:23 – GMT 17:23
Posted on: Tuesday June 02, 2020 KSA 19:23 – GMT 16:23
Source: Dubai – Arabic.net
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There is no doubt that the WHO is going through the most critical stage in its history in light of the shaking confidence in the way it manages the Corona crisis, amid many accusations that it is “colluding” with China. Throughout January, the organization worked to praise what it described as the rapid response of the Chinese authorities after the emergence of the emerging virus. She repeatedly thanked the Beijing government for sharing the “genetic map” of the virus “immediately”, saying “the country’s work and commitment to transparency are very impressive.”
But behind the scenes, the story is very different, according to the Associated Press, which revealed a deliberate delay from China in providing information about Corona, which is met with great frustration among officials of the United Nations organization for not obtaining the data they need to combat the spread of the deadly virus.
In fact, China waited more than a week to publish the genetic map or virus genome, despite the success of three of its government laboratories to fully decode the information.
Dozens of interviews conducted by the agency and internal documents also revealed that blame is being placed on tight monitoring of information and competition within the Chinese health system.
The Chinese government laboratories did not release the genome until after another laboratory published it on a website specialized in viruses on January 11.
However, China has suspended the submission of detailed data on patients and cases for at least another two weeks, according to records of internal meetings held by the organization in January.
Chinese President and Director of the Health Organization in Beijing on January 28
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“Very scant information”
The records obtained by the Associated Press indicate that WHO officials publicly praised China for seeking information from the Beijing government. However, they complained during meetings held during the sixth week of January, that China does not provide enough information and data to assess how the virus spreads among individuals or the threat it poses to the rest of the world, which cost a lot of time.
“We are working with very scarce information,” said Maria Van Kirkhoff, an American epidemiologist and technical leader for the WHO response to Covid-19, adding that this impedes efforts to combat the virus.
“15 minutes ago”
“We are now in a stage delivering us (the information) 15 minutes before it appears on the CCTV,” said Goden Gallia, the organization’s most senior official in China, during another internal meeting.
The report and the disclosure of the content of the documents come at a time the WHO is under criticism for managing the Corona outbreak file, and after agreeing to an independent investigation into the way to deal with the pandemic worldwide.
American accusations
US President Donald Trump has launched an assault on the organization in recent weeks, accusing it of colluding with China to conceal the seriousness of Corona in the first months, which has contributed to widespread HIV outbreaks around the world.
Trump also announced, last Friday, the severing of ties with the organization, threatening about 450 million dollars that the United States, the largest shareholder, provides each year to the organization. He blames the WHO, accusing it of failing “all aspects” of managing the global epidemic file, as well as aligning with China.
And the US President said a few days ago to cut off the funding: “They always stand by China, but we are financing the organization.” He added, “So we want to look at it.”
A housing complex in Wuhan for DNA analysis on May 17
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No authority
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to allocate two billion dollars over the next two years to fight Corona, saying that his country has continuously provided information to WHO and the world at the appropriate time.
The new information does not support the Chinese or American novel, according to the Associated Press, but it does reveal the crisis of the organization that has been trying hard to obtain more data despite its authority limits.
Although international law obliges states to provide the organization with information that may have an impact on public health, it does not have any authority to implement this and cannot independently investigate epidemics that spread in countries, and can only rely on the cooperation of Member States.
From Wuhan on May 16
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“She didn’t collude with Beijing.”
In addition, the information reveals that the organization did not collude with Beijing, but was deprived of complete information and obtained only the minimum stipulated by law.
However, the organization tried to show China at its best, probably in an effort to ensure access to information, according to the agency.
WHO experts genuinely believe that Chinese scientists have done a great job of getting to the genetic map of the virus, despite the lack of transparency of state officials.
Ring the alarm
The organization started sounding the alarm around Corona in mid-January, and on the 30th of the same month classified the Covid epidemic – 19 global health emergencies when there were 8,200 cases in 18 countries.
But the declaration of a health emergency, issued by the Director-General of the organization, Tidros Adhanum Gebresus, was accompanied by a call for countries to “remain calm and not impose measures that unnecessarily interfere in international trade and travel.”
On March 11, the organization declared the pandemic a global pandemic when the number of people around the world was 121,000. Now, it has recorded more than six million and 294 thousand cases and more than 376 thousand deaths worldwide.
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