Britain pledges 200 million to
criticized WHO and agencies
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| The spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manchester |
Britain has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to
charities and the World Health Organization, which has come under U.S. pressure
over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came while
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been suffering from the virus,
said he "owed" his life to British medics.
By Stefan J. Bos
With much of the world's population facing a lockdown or
other restrictions, Britain's government announced an Easter present of 200
million pounds ($248 million), in the global battle against the coronavirus
pandemic. The government said 130 million pounds would go to United Nations'
agencies, with 65 million for the World Health Organization, the WHO.
Another 50 million pounds is for the Red Cross to help war-torn
and hard to reach areas, and 20 million pounds is going to other groups and
charities.
In a statement, British aid minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: "Assisting the most impoverished countries now would help prevent the virus from returning to the United Kingdom."
Britain has reported almost 10,000 deaths from the
coronavirus so far, the fifth-highest national number globally. Among those
suffering is Prime Minister Johnson. He said Sunday that he "owes his
life" to the staff of Britain's state-run National Health Service.
The 55-year-old was rushed to St. Thomas's Hospital in
central London a week ago, suffering from persistent symptoms of the disease
caused by the new coronavirus. On April 6, he was moved into intensive care,
where he remained until April 9.
British expertise
Minister Trevelyan said British expertise and funding would
also be needed around the world to prevent a second deadly wave reaching the
country.
The minister stressed that the virus does not respect
country borders. It was, therefore, in the interest of the British public, she
said, "to support the healthcare systems of vulnerable developing
countries too."
The cash would help areas with weak health systems such as
war-ravaged Yemen, which reported its first case on Friday. Another nation
receiving aid is Bangladesh, which is hosting 850,000 Rohingya refugees in
crowded camps.
However, Britain's massive support for the WHO contrasts
with the view of U.S. President Donald Trump. He has criticized the agency's
handling of the COVID-19 crisis and suggested his administration might
re-evaluate U.S. funding.
That lead to an angry response from the WHO's
Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Please do not politicize
this virus," Tedros said in fiery remarks Wednesday.
Urging unity
He called for unity across the globe, saying the virus will
exploit cracks in political parties, religious groups or between different
nations to spread even more widely. "If you want to be exploited and if
you want to have many more body bags, then you do it. If you don't want many
more body bags, then you refrain from politicizing it," Tedros stressed.
In separate remarks, the WHO chief welcomed what he
described as "Britain's generous contribution," as in his words,
"protecting health around the world will help to protect the health of
people in the U.K."
More than 1.6 million people are reportedly infected by the
new coronavirus worldwide, and officials say deaths have topped 100,000.
Infections have been confirmed in 210 nations since the
first cases were identified in China in December last year.
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