Trump Should Hold His Horses

President Trump drew out a double-edged sword by freezing American funds to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The United States is the largest donor to the WHO, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of WHO’s budget.

Not everyone, however, disagrees with President Trump’s calls to reform the WHO. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, for instance, sympathised the President’s contention with the WHO.

Earlier, Prime Minister Morrison criticized WHO for supporting the reopening of wet markets in Wuhan - the prime suspect of where the Covid-19 virus originated. Still, the Australian premier hesitated to “throw the baby with the bathwater” by freezing funds to WHO.

Criticisms against the WHO is not new.

In 2010, WHO was accused for hastily declaring the H1N1 a pandemic, leading to unnecessary panic-buying of vaccines.

Conversely, health experts criticized WHO for the delay in declaring the 2013-2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa as an international health emergency.


Similarly, WHO’s response towards Covid-19 have called for brickbats as well. One particular allegation is that WHO intentionally isolated Taiwan due to China's pressure. Taiwan is not a member of WHO due to China's objection. WHO also downplayed Taiwan's early warning that human-to-human transmissions of the coronavirus was possible.

So naturally, the WHO needs a critical and constructive reflection.

However, President Trump’s drastic move may further isolate US from crucial global leadership roles. Previously, President Trump withdrew from international institutions such as UNESCO and UNHRC, stopped funding the UNRWA and abandoned multilateral initiatives like the Paris Agreement.

This series of decisions has already weakened the US’s status as a global superpower. Boycotting WHO now will just cause more damage. With the Covid-19 pandemic at a critical juncture, projecting power politics into the crisis is short-sighted.

The best way forward, therefore, is to refrain taking drastic decisions, at least until the pandemic peaks. Moreover, suppose President Trump desires to reform the WHO, he needs partners with the same passion. The US cannot inspire change as a stand-alone regime in a multiplex world. Forging partnerships, however require patience - a virtue the President is wearing thin of.