CBJ — U.S. President Donald Trump is halting funding to the World Health Organization while a review is conducted regarding its role in offering advice in managing the spread of COVID-19.

It’s estimated the U.S. funds the WHO with about $500 million per year — which is far more than any other country. Comparatively, China contributes about $40 million per year. If the WHO was to lose U.S. funding over a longer term, it would change the way the organization would have to be run.

The announcement comes amidst the worst global pandemic in decades.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to emphatically defend his own handling of the outbreak in the U.S. He says if the WHO had acted appropriately, he could have instituted a travel ban on people coming from China much sooner.

Many people, including pro and anti-Trump people, would admit the WHO has failed its mandate, but a number of those people also say Trump is looking to rid himself of any of the blame and putting it at the feet of other organizations and individuals.

Trump has also questioned American funding to the United Nations. He believes both the UN and the WHO are “ripping off the United States.”

@CanBizJournal