US President Donald Trump has announced that he is terminating the country’s relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The president has accused the WHO of failing to hold Beijing to account over the coronavirus pandemic.
“China has total control over the World Health Organization,” the president said while announcing measures aimed at punishing Beijing.
Washington will redirect funds to other bodies, he said.
The WHO, a UN agency that helps countries promote healthcare and tackle outbreaks of disease, is yet to comment on Mr Trump’s decision.
But on Saturday, the European Union led calls for the Trump administration to reconsider its decision, warning it could hamper global efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Trump announced last month that he was going to halt US funding for the WHO unless it undertook “substantive improvements” within 30 days.
The WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has promised a review of its response to the pandemic and defended its independence.
The US is the global health agency’s largest single contributor, providing more than $400m (£324m; €360m) in 2019, around 15% of its total budget.
Other countries, including Germany and the UK, have said they have no intention of withdrawing funding from the WHO, which is co-ordinating a global initiative to develop a vaccine against Covid-19.
BBC NEWS
