US informed WHO chief of $62 million funding cut: State Dept

The United States informed World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that Washington is reprogramming $62 million to finalize its withdrawal from the body, State Department official Nerissa Cook said on Wednesday.

“Today, we are announcing the remaining portion of the 2020 assessment, slightly more than USD 62 million, will be reprogrammed to the UN to pay other assessments,” Cook said in a briefing.

“The information... was also presented to WHO Director-General Tedros,” Cook added.

Cook said $58 million had already been contributed at the time of President Donald Trump’s April decision to suspend additional funding. Washington pulled out of the WHO earlier this year after claiming the body helped China conceal information about the origins of Covid-19.

The WHO said it’s January 30 emergency declaration gave the United States sufficient time to prepare while Beijing has said it has been transparent about the details of the virus’s origins.