Gates ups pandemic funds to $250 million, says Trump WHO move makes 'no sense'

By Kate Kelland

 

FILE PHOTO: Melinda Gates speaks to Oprah Winfrey on stage during a taping of her TV show in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., February 5, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Pulling funding from the World Health Organization (WHO) is a dangerous and nonsensical move when the world is facing the health crisis brought by the COVID-19 disease pandemic, Melinda Gates said on Wednesday.

 

Announcing an extra $150 million of funding from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help speed the development of treatments, vaccines and public health measures to tackle the new coronavirus outbreak, Melinda Gates said the WHO was "exactly the organization that can deal with this pandemic".

 

"De-funding the WHO makes absolutely no sense during a pandemic. We need a global coordinated response," Gates, who co-chairs the foundation with the billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, said in a telephone interview.

 

"When you're in a crisis like this, it's all hands on deck."

 

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a halt in U.S. funding to the WHO, saying it had "failed in its basic duty" in allowing the pandemic to take hold.

 

The Gates Foundation is the second largest donor to the WHO behind the United States. Melinda Gates said earlier that cutting WHO funding in a health crisis was "as dangerous as it sounds".

 

The WHO's Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday he regretted Trump's decision. He said the organisation was still assessing the impact and would "try to fill any gaps with partners".

 

The philanthropic Gates Foundation's new $150 million commitment brings its COVID-19 funding for the international response to date to $250 million, but Gates said any gap left in the WHO's funding would be very hard for others to fill.

 

Alongside support for new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines, the Gates money is primarily aimed at helping poorer countries and vulnerable populations handle the oncoming and spreading pandemic and the poverty it will cause.

 

"We really as a global community need to address what is now just beginning in African and South Asian countries. We see a huge need, and that's why we have more than doubled our commitment," she said.

 

Praising what she described as "heroic work" by local leaders and healthcare workers in poorer countries seeking to protect vulnerable communities and slow the spread of COVID-19, Melinda Gates said the world's response to the pandemic "will not be effective unless it is also equitable".

 

"Whenever a health crisis hits like this, it's the people on the margins that it hits the very most," she said. "They're the ones we need to help to ensure things like cash transfer payments are made and they have access to primary healthcare."

 

There are currently no effective vaccines, drugs or other immune system treatments approved to treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

 

The $150 million of extra funding adds to an initial $100 million from the Gates Foundation designed to kick-start scientific and public health projects.

 

Gates said the Foundation is backing eight projects seeking potential solutions for COVID-19 vaccine development and has co-funded enhanced virus detection capacity in Africa as well as contributing to the response in China.

 

(Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Mark Potter)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-16

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Some people who understand the facts and implications, and do not communicate in high dudgeon at least.

 

Yes I know the conspiracy tinfoil hatters will be right onto this, but they need something to do during social dislocation.

 

Meanwhile in the UK a 99 year old WWII veteran has raised over £10million for the NHS by walking around his garden. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-52303859

It’s just trump blame storming instead of brain storming it’s how he rolls

1 hour ago, webfact said:

De-funding the WHO makes absolutely no sense during a pandemic

 

The WHO did nothing to inform the world about the pandemic in the first place. They were wrong in almost every instance from the very beginning and look where we are now. 

 

Im sure the millions and millions that the USA sends to the WHO can be very much repurposed for national benefit. 

Sounds like the Gates were conned by a Terrorist (Tedros), and are in too deep to change course.  That is their problem now.  Gates, you are smarter than that, wake the <deleted>' up.

46 minutes ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

The WHO did nothing to inform the world about the pandemic in the first place. They were wrong in almost every instance from the very beginning and look where we are now. 

 

Im sure the millions and millions that the USA sends to the WHO can be very much repurposed for national benefit. 

which of course it won't be, since a heartless monster is in charge of the USA!

2 hours ago, webfact said:

De-funding the WHO makes absolutely no sense during a pandemic. We need a global coordinated response,"

Well said and gratitude to the generous donation to lessen the impact of a bad decision by Trump who is using WHO as a deflection for his delays in preparing for the pandemic. The big number of infections and deaths are caused by his lack of competency in handling the pandemic even though he was given early warnings by WHO and his own intelligent agencies. He still not displaying competency at this current time. 

I believe Gates will stand to make a lot of money from vaccines, treatments and health passports (if that's what he called them)....

He's not the great savior that he makes out to be !!

 

No links, no facts, just my opinion and that of a couple others.... 

Good that some people have the brain switched on, when the only thing they can find in the head of their president is empty warehouse space for the next ant family.

Just think all those years all of you that bought over priced MS software paid for this. That includes me.

2 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

I believe Gates will stand to make a lot of money from vaccines, treatments and health passports (if that's what he called them)....

He's not the great savior that he makes out to be !!

 

No links, no facts, just my opinion and that of a couple others.... 

You think they need to make money? The Gates are positioned to not care about money, they do give quite a lot away and dont look for quid pro quo.

Covid is all over the world.

 

The virus fight is best to be handled on an international level.

 

The who is an working organisation with respect worldwide. 

 

In my opinion the best virus scientist from Russia, China, USA, Japan, UK, France, or where ever, should work together under who to make the needed vaccine, this should not be an option for a company to make money or a national state to promote in the political arena. With all the best world wide scientist working together, we should have the vaccine in the fastest way.

 

Imo a very admirable couple self made smart and generous giving back if I may plagiarise jfk ask what you can do for your country not what your country can do for you.Now trump on the other hand asks himself what can he (do) his country for I don’t know I’m just a simple guy but I sit back and watch this crisis unfold and observe folks like the gates the Biden’s gov Cumo the gov of calif and how they rise to the occasion then I observe trump............ sad we can do better much much better thanks to the gates family blessings to you and yours 

3 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Well said and gratitude to the generous donation to lessen the impact

 

It is obvious that for me who earns the astronomical sum of 14,000 euros per year, this donation of 250 million US dollars may seem important.
To relate to his personal fortune which is more than 100 billion US dollars;
all of a sudden it seems really derisory;
a little boost of a few billion US dollars would have seemed more acceptable.

46 minutes ago, Sujo said:

You think they need to make money?

 

Majority of the top 100 don't "need" to make money... They love making money though....

 

lets leave trump and gates out of this and all the politicking.the WHO ,im ex taiwan and hk resisdent ,both countries have dealt with the virus well,theyre both next to big brother.i have used both places health services .well run and extensive.WHO told us no human to human transmission parroting beijings line at the time although evidence pointed in the opposite direction,drs reporters and private individuals reporting the virus in PRc were jailed and disappeared some are still lost.no mention of this by WHO.either the disappearances or the results of their findings.flights bans same story.and and and.aylward the WHO no 2 in hk was interviewed by local reporter she asked why they ignored taiwans offer of help,he didnt answer he just got up and walked out!the reporter after leaving the bldg was detained by police.this indicates quite clearly a bias towards PRC and thats being polite about it.some have mentioned we need a competent planet wide authority.i agree but WHO isnt it as they plainly demonstrate.any port in a storm?a complacent mistake and theres so many of those made so far.it needs  a shake up and thats putting it mildly,the upper echelon need t go and some could face criminal proceedings if found knowingly negligent on several fronts.

2 hours ago, finnsk said:

Covid is all over the world.

 

The virus fight is best to be handled on an international level.

 

The who is an working organisation with respect worldwide. 

 

In my opinion the best virus scientist from Russia, China, USA, Japan, UK, France, or where ever, should work together under who to make the needed vaccine, this should not be an option for a company to make money or a national state to promote in the political arena. With all the best world wide scientist working together, we should have the vaccine in the fastest way.

 

After this WHO will command far less respect. Their dithering infected individual national policies and actions.

5 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

I believe Gates will stand to make a lot of money from vaccines, treatments and health passports (if that's what he called them)....

He's not the great savior that he makes out to be !!

 

No links, no facts, just my opinion and that of a couple others.... 

Ah, so he's giving away billions annually so he can get rich! A cunning plan!

6 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

The WHO did nothing to inform the world about the pandemic in the first place. They were wrong in almost every instance from the very beginning and look where we are now. 

 

Im sure the millions and millions that the USA sends to the WHO can be very much repurposed for national benefit. 

exactly give the money for home grown help

who is useless

the WHO seems to be there to be buying big pharma vaccines and listening to their masters

 

corona vaccine is worth 450 BILLION dollars PROFIT per year

 

people give up their rights

 

and many more vaccines for adults will be forced upon you

13 minutes ago, katatonic said:

Ah, so he's giving away billions annually so he can get rich! A cunning plan!

you don't understand TAX returns

 

he can look good to the world that does not know he love EUGENICS (look it up) and this is tax DEDUCTABLE !!!

6 hours ago, Tug said:

It’s just trump blame storming instead of brain storming it’s how he rolls

 

I heard the Trump foundation was going to match this grant....  OK, I made that up. Well, it COULD happen, right? Ok, probably not. OK, definitely not.

21 minutes ago, katatonic said:

Ah, so he's giving away billions annually so he can get rich! A cunning plan!

He's not giving away anything, he's only getting richer from it.

 

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/bill-gates-foundation-philanthropy/

 

2 hours ago, Tug said:

Imo a very admirable couple self made smart and generous giving back if I may plagiarise jfk ask what you can do for your country not what your country can do for you.Now trump on the other hand asks himself what can he (do) his country for I don’t know I’m just a simple guy but I sit back and watch this crisis unfold and observe folks like the gates the Biden’s gov Cumo the gov of calif and how they rise to the occasion then I observe trump............ sad we can do better much much better thanks to the gates family blessings to you and yours 

 

I'm curious, what have you seen Biden do? Not that he's expected to do anything, as he's out of office , but you brought it up.

2 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

 

It is obvious that for me who earns the astronomical sum of 14,000 euros per year, this donation of 250 million US dollars may seem important.
To relate to his personal fortune which is more than 100 billion US dollars;
all of a sudden it seems really derisory;
a little boost of a few billion US dollars would have seemed more acceptable.

 

It's better to give it in small pieces as "administrators" will otherwise take the bulk of it. $250,000,000 is a pretty big small piece if you can get it directed appropriately

6 hours ago, RoadWarrior371 said:

Sounds like the Gates were conned by a Terrorist (Tedros), and are in too deep to change course.  That is their problem now.  Gates, you are smarter than that, wake the F' up.

Link please ( showing he is "smarter than that" )

 

I do read that there are many people that quite dislike Gates.   You would have to dig deep as these articles are hard to find , for obvious reasons ( to us conspiracy guys  ????

 

I have commented before on how Gates could single handedly end the hepatitis C misery

that millions suffer from.   Where is his money on that one ??   There is a cure ALREADY,

just too expensive for a vast percentage of the afflicted.  

 

1 hour ago, rupert the bear said:

lets leave trump and gates out of this and all the politicking.the WHO ,im ex taiwan and hk resisdent ,both countries have dealt with the virus well,theyre both next to big brother.i have used both places health services .well run and extensive.WHO told us no human to human transmission parroting beijings line at the time although evidence pointed in the opposite direction,drs reporters and private individuals reporting the virus in PRc were jailed and disappeared some are still lost.no mention of this by WHO.either the disappearances or the results of their findings.flights bans same story.and and and.aylward the WHO no 2 in hk was interviewed by local reporter she asked why they ignored taiwans offer of help,he didnt answer he just got up and walked out!the reporter after leaving the bldg was detained by police.this indicates quite clearly a bias towards PRC and thats being polite about it.some have mentioned we need a competent planet wide authority.i agree but WHO isnt it as they plainly demonstrate.any port in a storm?a complacent mistake and theres so many of those made so far.it needs  a shake up and thats putting it mildly,the upper echelon need t go and some could face criminal proceedings if found knowingly negligent on several fronts.

 

It's not just WHO that needs a shake up. Every country I'm aware of has organizational leaders in place from the "silent" and "baby boomer" generations. It's time to put these careerists out to pasture and bring in a new generation of leaders.

29 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

exactly give the money for home grown help

who is useless

So in your undoubtably expert opinion, as a reaction to your president's diversionary tantrum, the only worldwide organisation set up to eradicate all disease and improve the quality of life of everyone on the planet for the last 72 years should be de-funded by the US and the money redistributed locally. Should just about get a cheeseburger each.

29 minutes ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

the WHO seems to be there to be buying big pharma vaccines and listening to their masters

 

corona vaccine is worth 450 BILLION dollars PROFIT per year

 

people give up their rights

 

and many more vaccines for adults will be forced upon you

References please