GENEVA (dpa): World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday said that the reasons given by the United States to withdraw from the international body "are untrue."
"As a founding member of @WHO, the United States of America has contributed significantly to many of WHO's greatest achievements, including the eradication of smallpox. WHO has always engaged with the US, and all Member States, with full respect for their sovereignty," Tedros said in a post on social media platform X.
"Unfortunately, the reasons cited for the US decision to withdraw from WHO are untrue. The notification of withdrawal makes both the US and the world less safe."
In an expanded statement, the WHO responded in detail to accusations levelled by the administration of President Donald Trump for the first time, after the US withdrawal from the body became official earlier in the week, a year after it was announced.
US State Secretary Marco Rubio and Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy wrote, among other things, that the WHO "tarnished and trashed everything that America has done for it" and cited, as an example, that it "refuses to hand over the American flag that hung in front of it." They later reported that the flag was now back in US possession.
The WHO responded that "the reverse is true. As we do with every Member State, WHO has always sought to engage with the United States in good faith, with full respect for its sovereignty."
The WHO also rejects the US accusation that it "obstructed the timely and accurate sharing of critical information" during the coronavirus pandemic.
In early January 2020, it informed governments through all channels about the "cluster of cases of 'pneumonia of unknown cause'" in China and urged them to take precautions.
On January 30, it declared an international public health emergency, the highest level of alert, when there were fewer than 100 coronavirus cases and no deaths outside China.
The WHO said that it hopes "that in the future, the United States will return to active participation in WHO." - dpa
