U.S. Will Fund Some WHO Programs Despite Trump’s Withdrawal
- Funds will fight polio, Covid-19, flu in vulnerable countries
- Official says WHO has yet to show independence from China
Photographer: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump has agreed to contribute $108 million to the World Health Organization to fight Covid-19, polio, flu and other diseases in vulnerable countries, even as the U.S. prepares to withdraw from the institution he blames for early missteps in the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to fund health programs in countries including Libya, Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan represents a victory for administration moderates who had argued the U.S. would imperil the lives of millions of people and undercut its own national security interests if it followed through with Trump’s order, made in April, to halt all funding for the WHO. A month later, the president formally announced that the U.S. would leave in a year’s time.