US President Donald Trump´s decision to suspend the US financial contribution to the World Health Organization due to what he described as "mismanagement" of the health crisis caused by the emerging Corona Virus sparked widespread condemnation in the world Wednesday.
Here are the main reactions:
The World Health Organization director announced Wednesday after Trump´s declaration "No time to waste" and "The only concern" is to save lives from the Covid-19 epidemic.
"There is no time to lose. The only concern for the World Health Organization is to help all people save lives and end the outbreak of the new Corona virus," Tedros Adhanum Gebresos said on his Twitter account.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres considered that "this is not the time to reduce resources" for such an international organization involved in the war against the Covid-19 epidemic.
"This is not the time to cut funding for WHO or any other humanitarian organization fighting the virus," Guterres said in a statement. "I am convinced that WHO must be supported because its importance is critical to the efforts the world is making to win the war against Covid-19."
"This decision will weaken the capabilities of the World Health Organization and undermine international cooperation against the epidemic," said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Legian.
Zhao urged the United States to "take its responsibilities and obligations seriously, and support the international efforts against the epidemic led by the World Health Organization."
"We have to work closely with Coffid-19," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas wrote in a tweet on Twitter. He added that "one of the best investments is to strengthen the United Nations, especially the under-funded World Health Organization, for example, to develop and distribute testing equipment and vaccines."
The minister added that "blaming does not help" in the current health conditions, explaining that "the virus knows no borders."
European Union Foreign Minister Josip Borrell expressed his "deep regret" at the suspension of the US contribution .. Borrell wrote in a tweet "There is no reason why" this decision at a time when the efforts of the World Health Organization "are more necessary than ever to help contain and mitigate (the spread The Global Epidemic.
"Only by joining forces can we overcome this boundless crisis," he added.
"Washington´s announcement yesterday to suspend funding for the World Health Organization raises great concern in our opinion. It reflects the very selfish approach of the US authorities in facing what is happening in the world," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Tass news agency.
A French government spokeswoman announced that France "regrets" Trump´s decision. "It is an unfortunate decision," Seibit Ndiaye said at the conclusion of a cabinet meeting, explaining that Paris hopes "things will return to normal" so the organization can continue its work.
On Wednesday, African Union Commission President Moussa Faki Mohamed said in a tweet that the US decision was "very unfortunate."
