A petition demanding the resignation of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stood poised Tuesday to break the one million signatures mark.

The campaign began on January 31 when the petition titled, “Call for the resignation of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, W.H.O. Director-General,” appeared on Change.org, citing Tedros’ refusal on January 23 to designate the Wuhan coronavirus a global health emergency.

An anonymous activist using the ID “Osuka Yip” launched the call, as Breitbart News reported.

“We strongly think Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is not fit for his role as WHO director general. We call for the immediate resignation of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,” the petition states.

On Tuesday morning the number of supporters stood at 985, 850 and rising.

As Breitbart News has extensively reported, the criticism of the handling of the Chinese coronavirus crisis by W.H.O. in general and Tedros in particular has been growing for weeks.

Such is the clamor of disapproval surrounding the Ethiopian bureaucrat that last week U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a hold on funds sent to the U.N. body, demanding they answer for their failures to properly warn the world about the deadly virus.

The president also criticized the W.H.O. for attacking his travel ban on China during the early days of the pandemic.

White House

“The W.H.O.’s attack on travel restrictions put political correctness above life-saving measures,” Trump said.

“We spend $500 million a year,” Trump said, noting that China only spent $30-$40 million.

He noted that the W.H.O. played a role in “mismanaging and covering up” the spread of the coronavirus around the world.

“The W.H.O. pushed China’s misinformation about the virus, saying it was not communicable and there was no need for travel bans,” he said.