The African Union Defends WHO Against President Trump's Attacks

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8 April 2020

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"The World Health Organization has proven to be a true champion of multilateralism when global solidarity has become crucial," Namibia's President said.

The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat defended the World Health Organization (WHO) after President Donald Trump attacked this international agency.

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Mahamat said he was surprised by the campaign that the U.S. is implementing against WHO and its Director-General, the Ethiopian microbiologist, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"The African Union fully supports WHO and Dr. Tedros. The focus should continue to be on fighting collectively against COVID-19 as a united global community. The time for accountability will come," the UAC chairman tweeted.

"I agree with you," Namibia's President Hage G. Geingob replied, adding that "the WHO has proven to be a true champion of multilateralism when global solidarity has become crucial... let's focus on what matters, saving lives."

On Tuesday, Trump accused the WHO of being an organization "biased" in favor of China and having been "wrong" in not warning about COVID-19 in time.

He also recalled that the United States is the main donor to the WHO and announced that Washington is considering freezing the funds it sends to that multilateral organization.

As of Wednesday morning, there were 1,455,519 COVID-19 cases and 83,664 deaths from this disease worldwide.

The U.S. reported 404,056 COVID-19 cases, 369,253 active cases, 12,988 patients deceased, and 21,815 recovered. In the last 24 hours, the number of cases increased by 3,721.