The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has condemned the decision of the US President Donald Trump to halt its funding of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Trump on Tuesday announced that the United States will immediately halt all funding for the UN health agency.
The Chairperson called the decision “deeply regrettable” and said “today more than ever, the world depends on WHO’s leadership” in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the WHO often helps fill the funding gaps in Africa’s weak healthcare infrastructure, paying for much needed essentials in the sector.
The Chairperson tweeted that “the world depends on WHO’s leadership more than ever before to steer the global Covid_19 pandemic response.”
The US is the single largest funder of the WHO, providing more than $400m each year – about 15% of its total budget.
It had previously planned to provide the agency $893 million in the current two-year funding period.
MG/abj/APA