The WHO health organization has “wasted no time in responding to the coronavirus,” said WHO CEO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday.
According to Tedros, the WHO gave the world “enough time” to respond to the outbreak when it declared an international health crisis on January 30. At the time, only 82 cases were known outside of China and no deaths.
The CEO defends the response of the WHO, which is under attack from US President Donald Trump. Trump says the WHO has “really messed up” the coronavirus response and accuses the international organization of being overly influenced by China.
The US President has announced that he wants to freeze the subsidy for the WHO. His country has long made the largest financial contribution to WHO.
WHO managed to make a deal with China
Tedros responds that the organization has used the time between the start of the outbreak and the declaration of a health crisis.
For example, the WHO has visited China to learn more about the virus and its origin. There, the WHO managed to conclude an exceptional deal with China to send more researchers to the country.
When asked about the current relationship between the US and the WHO, Tedros said, “We are actually in constant contact and working together,” without further elaborating.
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