It Is Time for the WHO's Pro-China Chief to Resign
by Con Coughlin • April 10, 2020 at 5:00 am
Rather than criticising Beijing for its initial attempts to cover up the outbreak, Dr Tedros instead praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for his "very rare leadership", and China for showing "transparency" in its response to the virus.
"The W.H.O. really blew it... Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?" — US President Donald J. Trump, Twitter, April 7, 2020.
Why indeed?
As the body responsible for maintaining global health standards, the UN-sponsored World Health Organization (WHO) is supposed to adopt an even-handed approach when dealing with all member states, irrespective of how powerful they might be.
It is for this reason that the blatant pro-China bias the organisation has shown in its response to the coronavirus pandemic has raised a number of serious questions about the WHO's handling of the crisis.
Under the terms of the WHO's constitution, which sets out the agency's governing structure and principles, the Geneva-based organisation is charged with ensuring "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health."
The accusation made by the Trump Administration, that the global body has become "China centric" and has been "biased" in its dealings with Beijing over the pandemic, therefore suggest the organisation has failed in its duty to treat all member states equally.
