WHO chief under attack for alleged China deal

The World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus continues to face attacks from US President Donald Trump’s supporters for his alleged mishandling of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The US government, one of the biggest donors to WHO - it contributed more than $400 million in 2019 – halted its funding in April after President Trump announced that WHO had “failed in its basic duty and it must be held responsible.”

Now the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has kicked off a row with his alleged claims at a private meeting with some British MPs during a visit to London.
Citing multiple sources, The Times said Pompeo had claimed that the director-general of the World Health Organisation had been “bought” by China’s government and his election had resulted in “dead Britons”.

Meanwhile, the WHO director-general Tedros said that US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo's latest comments on the relations between the UN health body and China is "untrue and unacceptable, without any foundation."

Speaking at a routine briefing on Thursday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the sole focus of the WHO is on saving lives, and that the organization "will not be distracted by these comments, and we don't want the entire the international community also to be distracted", Xinhua news agency reported.

Tedros reiterated that the politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic remains one of the greatest threats, as it does not respect borders, ideologies, or political parties.


"I have said it many times. COVID[-19] politics should be quarantined. And I'm appealing again to all nations to work together. Politics and partisanship have made things worse. So, what is very important is science, solutions and solidarity. But I repeat, the allegations are untrue, and without any foundation."

In a related development, the Chinese Foreign Ministry refuted the claim by some US politicians that the novel coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Wednesday made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked for comments about the so-called latest evidence of the origin of the virus as recently revealed by an internal cable of the US State Department, Xinhua news agency reported.


With respect to the management and research of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), Yuan Zhiming, director of the National Biosafety Laboratory at the institute, had given a comprehensive introduction during an inclusive interview, Wang said.

"The laboratory has high-standard bio-safety facilities and a strict management system. All the researchers must undergo systematic theoretical and operation training, and obtain the qualification and approval before entering the laboratory," Wang quoted Yuan as saying.

The spokesperson said that a few politicians in the United States spread rumours and even claimed to have "a large amount of evidence" to support their so-called "truth," showing they have no morals at all.

"The contents disclosed by the relevant reports have enabled the world to see once again how little truth is in the so-called evidence and truth of the United States," Wang said, noting even US experts agree that there is no evidence in the diplomatic cables to support the claim that the novel coronavirus came from the laboratory. – TWL Bureau with IANS inputs