WHO chief urges U.S. to reconsider funding, says 'virus will be with us for a long time'

By Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge

 

FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, attends a news conference on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Geneva, Switzerland February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

 

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that he hoped the Trump administration would reconsider its suspension of funding, but that his main focus was on ending the pandemic and saving lives.

 

There were "worrying upward trends" in early epidemics in parts of Africa and central and South America, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

 

"Most countries are still in the early stages of their epidemics and some that were affected early in the pandemic are starting to see a resurgence in cases," Tedros told Geneva journalists in a virtual briefing.

 

"Make no mistake we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time," he said, while noting that epidemics in Western Europe appear to be stabilising or declining.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump last week criticised the WHO's handling of the pandemic and announced he was suspending funding to the U.N. agency. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said the United States strongly believes that China's ruling Communist party failed to report the outbreak of the new coronavirus in a timely manner to the WHO.

 

"I hope the freezing of the funding will be reconsidered and the U.S. will once again support WHO's work and continue to save lives," Tedros said. "I hope the U.S. believes that this an important investment, not just to help others but for the U.S. to stay safe also."

 

The WHO's top emergencies expert Dr. Mike Ryan warned against opening up global travel too quickly, saying it would require "careful risk management".

 

He noted surges in infections in Africa such as a nearly 300 percent increase in cases in Somalia in the past week. "We are at the beginning in Africa," Ryan said.

 

The WHO officials urged countries to continue investing in preparedness, saying that only 76 percent had surveillance systems to detect cases.

"There are still many gaps in the world's defences and no single country has everything in place," said Tedros.

 

Amid criticism that it should have acted earlier, Tedros defended the WHO's decision to declare an international emergency only on Jan. 30 - its highest level of alert.

 

"Looking back I think we declared the emergency at the right time and when the world had enough time to respond," said Tedros, adding that on that date there were only 82 COVID-19 cases outside of China and no deaths at the time.

 

Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity, said that the world would need to learn to live with the new COVID-19 disease.

 

"This is not a discrete one-off episode. My belief is that this is now an endemic human infection...We’re going to have to find ways to deal with that," he told an online media briefing.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-23

 

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It they are not able to substantiate the data they regurgitate what good are they? 

Ask China for funding  or you need to step down immediately. Your job can’t last long as well.

He was the guy who continually praised China for doing a wonderful job ... at the same time President Trump was doing the same thing!

 

Two wrong un's don't make a right!

An offensive post and a reply has been removed. 

The virus may last a long time...hopefully you-WHO...will not!

These people are worrying.

 

They talk about a new normal as though living with a crashed economy, millions of people jobless and on the breadline is the way forward and we all need to get used to it.

It's like an engineered new world order and i wonder just who is behind it all ?

7 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

The virus may last a long time...hopefully you-WHO...will not!

Yet another equally sad post.The WHO is an advisory body which the world needs-not ideologically driven repetitive and perseverative nonsense from-guess who?

The American alt-right?

 

I am very sure that the WHO will be with us for the forseeable future.

1 hour ago, Odysseus123 said:

Yet another equally sad post.The WHO is an advisory body which the world needs-not ideologically driven repetitive and perseverative nonsense from-guess who?

The American alt-right?

 

I am very sure that the WHO will be with us for the forseeable future.

The WHO appears to be, at the least, a politically driven 'advisory' board.  I don't object to an independent, objective, apolitical organisation which also doesn't allow itself to be influenced by money.  In it's present form it certainly has revealed itself to eschew those values.  As such, it is presently not only useless but dangerous as well.

Off topic troll post and reply removed

17 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

The WHO appears to be, at the least, a politically driven 'advisory' board.  I don't object to an independent, objective, apolitical organisation which also doesn't allow itself to be influenced by money.  In it's present form it certainly has revealed itself to eschew those values.  As such, it is presently not only useless but dangerous as well.

I agree with you. All big Organisation are influenced by politics even those related to sports like FIFA or IOC or religion like the OIC. The question is whether withdrawing funds is the solution or rather putting pressure to reform as the largest donor is a better option. Then we have to question the decision of withdrawing much needed fundings during a pandemic which is a dereliction of moral responsibility. 

20 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

I agree with you. All big Organisation are influenced by politics even those related to sports like FIFA or IOC or religion like the OIC. The question is whether withdrawing funds is the solution or rather putting pressure to reform as the largest donor is a better option. Then we have to question the decision of withdrawing much needed fundings during a pandemic which is a dereliction of moral responsibility. 

China was derelict of duty in reporting the wuhan flu and funding should be cut off from an IO that was caught with its pants down and running cover for the CCP well into February.

13 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

 

42 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

The WHO appears to be, at the least, a politically driven 'advisory' board.  I don't object to an independent, objective, apolitical organisation which also doesn't allow itself to be influenced by money.  In it's present form it certainly has revealed itself to eschew those values.  As such, it is presently not only useless but dangerous as well.

 

I agree with you. All big Organisation are influenced by politics even those related to sports like FIFA or IOC or religion like the OIC. The question is whether withdrawing funds is the solution or rather putting pressure to reform as the largest donor is a better option. Then we have to question the decision of withdrawing much needed fundings during a pandemic which is a dereliction of moral responsibility. 

Think about it.  If in their present form they are political, and thus useless and misleading, and reforming them would take time then cutting their funding would not be harmful and it would at the same time pressure them to reform.

Trump is the man. He will have this virus beaten in weeks, if not days. He is very, very intelligent and knows a lot about everything that ordinary people could never even hope to know.....and he knows it all using some biggly words.

 

He certainly doesn't need anyone else telling him what to do.

he is worried about his cut of the money, as an ex member of a terrorist group you have to wonder how he even got the job in the first place, who is pulling all the strings to allow this moron to get the position, the ones that appointed him need to be looked at as well, did they take back handers to do it

1 minute ago, seajae said:

he is worried about his cut of the money, as an ex member of a terrorist group you have to wonder how he even got the job in the first place, who is pulling all the strings to allow this moron to get the position, the ones that appointed him need to be looked at as well, did they take back handers to do it

I don't think Trump was ever in a terrorist group?

3 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

  

6 minutes ago, seajae said:

he is worried about his cut of the money, as an ex member of a terrorist group you have to wonder how he even got the job in the first place, who is pulling all the strings to allow this moron to get the position, the ones that appointed him need to be looked at as well, did they take back handers to do it

 

I don't think Trump was ever in a terrorist group?

LOL.  The libs just can't resist making silly, off-topic remarks about Trump.

12 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

Think about it.  If in their present form they are political, and thus useless and misleading, and reforming them would take time then cutting their funding would not be harmful and it would at the same time pressure them to reform.

Seem worse off when you cant exert reform pressure as a non funding member & you created a bad image of dereliction of moral responsibility. Lose lose situation from an impulsive reaction of one man 

25 minutes ago, sukhumvitneon said:

China was derelict of duty in reporting the wuhan flu and funding should be cut off from an IO that was caught with its pants down and running cover for the CCP well into February.

Apparent ignorant of facts and rather prefer to indulge in hyperbole. 

WHO chief urges U.S. to reconsider funding, says 'virus will be with us for a long time'

 

Doesn't it sound a bit ominous .. ????

WHO should be resolved immediately. They only cause unnecessary panic and thus destroy the global economy. 

The WHO's top emergencies expert Dr. Mike Ryan warned against opening up global travel too quickly, saying it would require "careful risk management".

 

Weren't these the guys who told countries they shouldn't close borders?

1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

Seem worse off when you cant exert reform pressure as a non funding member & you created a bad image of dereliction of moral responsibility. Lose lose situation from an impulsive reaction of one man 

China caused the virus and then lied about it, leading to a worldwide lockdown

36 minutes ago, sukhumvitneon said:

China caused the virus and then lied about it, leading to a worldwide lockdown

US intelligence officials were warned about the virus sweeping in Wuhan as far back as November. Someone dropped the ball, 

1 hour ago, Fatman666 said:

WHO should be resolved immediately. They only cause unnecessary panic and thus destroy the global economy. 

Rumours are that they are well connected

1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

US intelligence officials were warned about the virus sweeping in Wuhan as far back as November. Someone dropped the ball, 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/08/pentagon-denies-abc-news-report-military-intelligence-knew-about-coronavirus-in-november/

 

POTUS briefed January.

3 hours ago, seajae said:

he is worried about his cut of the money, as an ex member of a terrorist group you have to wonder how he even got the job in the first place, who is pulling all the strings to allow this moron to get the position, the ones that appointed him need to be looked at as well, did they take back handers to do it

I have been part of medical teams that treated disease situations on Bougainville,Choiseul,Aceh Province,Indonesia and (as an observer) a Cholera outbreak inorth of Mumbai-the information from which was relayed back to the WHO.

 

In actual fact some of which missions was under the auspices of the WHO..

 

Be very careful who you call a "moron" for I am very capable of slinging just such an epithet your way..

 

I put it down to the amount of lead in the water.

14 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/08/pentagon-denies-abc-news-report-military-intelligence-knew-about-coronavirus-in-november/

 

POTUS briefed January.

On the accounts of WH denials? 

Trump/USA was right to turn the tap off, as should the no2 contributor, UK. The WHO aren't fit for purpose.

19 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

On the accounts of WH denials? 

No, as refuted by the head of the medical intelligence unit.