Tedros refutes Trump’s claims of WHO’s lack of independence

The World Health Organization tries to help its member states, but “politely” declines when their requests are not backed by scientific evidence, or not in line with its mission, according to its leader. “We say no politely, and you have seen me doing that many times,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told member states at the opening of its executive board meeting, where United States withdrawal from WHO and its implications were a main concern. His remarks were in response to the executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump, who blamed WHO’s lack of independence from “inappropriate political influence” as well as its “mishandling” of COVID-19 and other health crises and its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, as reasons for the withdrawal. He also complained of “unfairly onerous payments” to WHO, saying the U.S. pays significantly more in assessed contributions to the U.N. agency than other countries, particularly China, despite the latter’s large population. Tedros said its member states understand how assessed contributions are calculated, but some countries “choose to make higher voluntary contributions than others.” The U.S. is supposed to pay an annual fee of $130 million in assessed contributions for 2024 to 2025, but its voluntary contributions for 2024 were almost six times more than that, exceeding $700 million. Tedros also pointed to ongoing efforts to strengthen WHO’s financial stability by working to broaden its donor base — reducing reliance on a few key donors such as the U.S. — including through increases in member state dues. In 2022, WHO member states agreed to gradually increase their membership dues, to reach 50% of its approved budget by 2030. The first increase was approved in 2023, and the second 20% increase is due for approval in May at the World Health Assembly. On COVID-19, Tedros reiterated that WHO asked for information from China the moment it “picked up signals of viral pneumonia in Wuhan” over five years ago, and alerted the world and provided guidance on how to protect populations. “Of course, there will be challenges and weaknesses, and there have been multiple independent reviews of the global response to COVID-19, with more than 300 recommendations to address” them, he said. WHO has received criticism over its COVID-19 response. An independent panel review of the response found WHO could have declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern — the highest level of alert it can issue — earlier. It has also been criticized for not announcing that SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, was airborne much earlier. As far as reforms go, Tedros said WHO “has implemented the deepest and most wide-ranging reforms in the organization’s history” under his leadership, but suggested the agency is still open to new ideas. “We believe in continuous improvement, and we would welcome suggestions from the United States and all member states for how we can serve you and the people of the world better. So although we are doing a lot of reform, additional is welcome,” he said. Days after Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal, WHO said in an internal email to staff that it is implementing several cost-cutting measures in response to the decision, including a hiring freeze and reduced travel. It’s also limiting the replacement of IT equipment and said it’s renegotiating contracts. WHO member states expressed concerns on the financial implications of the U.S. withdrawal. Its program, budget, and administration committee, in a meeting last week, proposed to decrease WHO’s base budget for the coming 2026-2027 biennium to $4.9 billion — the same as in the current biennium — from the initially proposed $5.3 billion “to reflect the current financial and economic constraints.” WHO appears to also be exploring new financing mechanisms, including an endowment. “We’d really appreciate it if you can explore that, and then if you can give us any advice you have before we make a move with that,” Tedros told member states. A U.S. delegation was present during the meeting, but so far has not made any statements.