Amid reports of the U.S.'s impending withdrawal from the World Health Organization, the organization is increasing pressure on China to share more information about the origins of COVID. Beijing is responding by saying that it shared all the information it had.
According to reports from recent days, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is planning to withdraw from the World Health Organization at the beginning of his term next month – a move that could undermine the organization's stability, greatly reduce its budget and its ability to deal with future health crises.
Given this, the World Health Organization issued a statement on Monday stating that it is a moral and scientific obligation for China to share more information and data about the COVID-19 outbreak.
In response, China once again claimed that it had provided the greatest contribution to global research on the origins of the pandemic. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that for the past five years, China has shared information about the pandemic and viral genome sequencing with the World Health Organization and the international community without holding anything back, claiming they shared their experience in prevention, control, and treatment.
COVID, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has caused enormous damage worldwide and killed millions. According to the World Health Organization, more than 760 million COVID cases and 6.9 million deaths have been reported worldwide. The international health state of emergency was declared over in mid-2023, but the WHO stressed that the disease should serve as a constant reminder of the potential of new viruses to cause devastating consequences.
During the pandemic, the WHO criticized the Chinese authorities for their lack of transparency and cooperation. A team of experts led by the WHO, together with Chinese colleagues, conducted an investigation into the origins of the pandemic in early 2021. In a joint report, researchers estimated that the virus was transmitted from an intermediary animal, probably bats or raccoons, to humans. However, the team of researchers has not been allowed to return to China since then, and WHO representatives have requested additional data again and again.
China has expressed its willingness to continue to work with various parties to promote global scientific research on the origins of the virus, and take active efforts to prevent potential infectious diseases in the future, Mao Ning added.
Will Trump withdraw from the organization?
While the WHO exerts pressure on China, media reports have revealed that Trump’s transition team plans to announce the U.S.’s withdrawal from the organization on inauguration day. In doing so, the U.S., the largest contributor to the organization, with about 16% of funding, will leave a huge void in global health funding and leadership.
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The reports indicate divisions within Trump’s transition team. Some want to lead reforms from within the organization, while others are pushing for a complete break. Dr. Ashish Jha, the former White House COVID coordinator, argued that the move was also intended to symbolize a policy reversal by President Biden, who renewed relations with the WHO on his first day in office.
The WHO, which has not responded directly to Trump’s plans, called for cooperation with the U.S., claiming American leaders understand that the United States cannot be safe as long as the rest of the world is not safe.