US formally gives 1-year notice to quit WHO
The United States President Donald Trump issued a notification to the Congress and the United Nations giving information that the US is withdrawing the World Health Organization (WHO) from July 6, 2021.
The decision comes amid tensions with China over the handling of coronavirus pandemic. The US has decided to leave the Geneva-based body after more than 70 years of membership.
Reportedly, the US has given one-year notice for its withdrawal and paying Washington`s dues under a 1948 joint resolution of the US Congress. As per the WHO's website, more than $200 million is owed to the WHO by the US.
Earlier in April, Donald Trump had announced the decision to halt America's funding of the World Health Organization (WHO) as he had directed a review to assess the UN body's role in "severely mismanaging and covering up" the spread of coronavirus.
The US President had also accused the WHO of taking side with China amid coronavirus outbreak. The novel virus has forced around than half of the world's population to remain under lockdown. Trump had also claimed that China's incompetency has led to 184 countries "going through hell".
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Likewise, Trump, in May, had announced that the United States would withdraw from the WHO in the near future. However, the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had called the move as "an act of true senselessness as WHO coordinates the global fight against COVID-19."
-PTC News
