The World Health Organization (WHO) was established in 1948. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations with a key mission of coordinating global health issues, including helping countries respond to public health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The United States is the largest donor to the organization.

According to statistics, over the past decade, the US's contributions to the WHO have ranged from $163 million to $816 million. However, the WHO's slow response to the Covid-19 pandemic led the Trump administration to suspend funding and terminate the US's membership in 2020.

In the context of the upcoming US presidential election, experts are hypothesizing whether the relationship between the US and WHO will become tense again if Mr. Trump is elected.

Losses in the Covid-19 pandemic: WHO cannot stand aside

In 2021, the Independent Commission on Pandemic Preparedness and Response accused the WHO of being slow to warn and contain the pandemic, leading to tragic deaths globally.

The committee's report also said that, despite being informed of the cases in late December 2019, WHO did not convene its emergency committee until January 22, 2020, and then waited until January 30, 2020 to declare a global emergency. Ultimately, the report concluded that WHO "has not been able to carry out its mandate as expected."

The WHO’s explanation for not raising the alert level in time also raises questions about whether the organization is truly responsible for the global pandemic. Accordingly, the agency only admitted to a “typo” when there was confusion about the alert level instead of “high” to “moderate” just 1 day after announcing the results.

Besides the US, other countries such as Australia and Japan have also criticized the WHO for its role in Covid-19. Many leaders and health experts have called for the resignation of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Mr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO. Photo: Nature

This is not the first time, as the WHO has previously faced criticism for its response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. In April 2014, the Ebola epidemic broke out strongly, but it was not until August 2014 that the WHO declared a global emergency. This delay was part of the reason why the epidemic broke out and spread in West Africa, causing the deaths of more than 11,000 people.

The organization has also been accused of hyping up the A/H1N1 flu pandemic due to the influence of the pharmaceutical industry. The situation has become worse with the Covid-19 pandemic.

What is the future of WHO if Trump returns to the White House?

During his previous term, Mr. Donald Trump criticized WHO for being too dependent on China, not being transparent in providing information about Covid-19, and failing to fulfill its mission of protecting global health.

Mr. Trump also said that the country's budget resources should be used more effectively elsewhere. Accordingly, on April 14, 2020, Mr. Trump decided to stop providing the budget and "conduct a review to clarify the WHO's role in causing the world to make serious mistakes in dealing with Covid-19 and covering up the spread of the nCoV virus."

Mr. Trump at a press conference on the Covid-19 pandemic emergency at the White House, Washington, DC (USA) on April 6, 2020. Photo: CNBC

Mr Trump’s decision was controversial. Many argued that cutting funding would weaken the WHO’s ability to respond to future pandemics and help poor countries. However, Mr Trump maintained that the WHO needed to undergo comprehensive reforms and become more transparent in its operations. This was a major blow to the WHO, which relies heavily on US funding to maintain its operations.

The WHO’s relationship with other member states is also a matter of much debate. While many members continue to support the WHO and acknowledge its importance to global health, others are pushing for reform of the WHO to address its weaknesses.

WHO itself has also advocated for reforms in a number of areas and has undertaken a number of internal reform processes, while launching a new “investment round” and promoting negotiations to amend the International Health Regulations and establish a new treaty on pandemic issues, each of which includes reforms to WHO operations.

Global authorities have also listed problems facing the organization, including low growth in funding, a cumbersome, decentralized and bureaucratic organizational structure.

Although WHO is a health organization and has the mission of warning about global health issues, WHO activities are now deeply involved in political issues, national policy making, as well as negotiations on health issues. This, according to experts, will lead to division between parties and ministries of countries.

Currently, the role of WHO in global health remains a question mark. The Wall Street Journal (USA) commented on April 15, 2020: "The world needs an international organization capable of making transparent recommendations on public health and coordinating responses to global disease outbreaks. However, WHO has become less focused on its core mission in recent decades, instead wasting funds on campaigns promoting government-run health care programs and attacking tobacco companies."

In the next term (2025-2029), if former President Donald Trump is re-elected, it is likely that the issues between the US and WHO will be dissected again. It is very likely that if it does not show reforms to operate more effectively, this organization will face great challenges in maintaining funding and support from member countries, especially the US.

That will force WHO to seek other sources of funding or adjust many of its programs and activities to fit the shrinking budget.

Minh Duc