Trump’s move to cut funding for W.H.O. draws dismay, criticism and skepticism

The head of the World Health Organization expressed dismay over President Trump’s declaration that he would halt U.S. funding to the agency as the number of cases of coronavirus worldwide neared two million.

“W.H.O. is not only fighting Covid-19,” said its director general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Wednesday. “We’re also working to address polio, measles, malaria, Ebola, H.I.V., tuberculosis, malnutrition, cancer, diabetes, mental health and many other diseases and conditions.”

Mr. Trump, facing building criticism in the U.S. over a response to the pandemic seen as slow and ineffective, lashed out on Tuesday night, claiming that it was the W.H.O. that had made devastating mistakes and saying that he had ordered the funding frozen pending a review.

In the U.S., the virus has killed more than 25,000 people and infected at least 600,000.

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, sharply denounced Mr. Trump’s announcement, promising to “swiftly challenge” the move and calling it “dangerous” and “illegal.” Congress had already appropriated the W.H.O. funds, but the Trump administration has previously diverted allocated funds to other programs without lawmakers’ approval.