World

Trump begins official withdrawal of US from WHO

Wednesday, July 08, 2020 at 8:54 AM by Onyirioha Nnamdi

- The US will be cutting off its ties with the WHO in no time

- This is as President Donald Trump has sent a notice of withdrawal to the UN on the issue

- The decision has sparked a lot of heated reactions and criticisms from stakeholders, lawmakers and politicians in the country

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Confirmed reports indicate that President Donald Trump of the United States of America (USA) has kick-started moves to withdraw the nation from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to a state department official whose name was not mentioned, President Trump has forwarded a notice of withdrawal to the United Nations (UN)'s secretary-general, António Guterres, who is the depository for the WHO.

The official revealed that the decision will be implemented from July 2021, CNN reports.

Confirming this, Guterres' spokesman made it known that he has received the notice and "is in the process of verifying with the World Health Organization whether all the conditions for such withdrawal are met."

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This move by Trump has understandably brewed a lot of heated reactions from prominent groups and politicians among whom is the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, who has vowed to reverse the decision just a day into office if he is elected.

Trump begins official withdrawal from WHO — President Donald Trump of the US
Source: Getty Images

A US lawmaker who has picked holes in the president's resolve is Senator Robert Menendez, the Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee.

Menendez believes that calling Trump's plan to withdraw the US from the WHO chaotic at a time when the nation is being battered with coronavirus is an understatement.

He tweeted on Tuesday, July 7: "Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the U.S. from the @WHO in the midst of a pandemic.

"To call Trump’s response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn't do it justice. This won't protect American lives or interests—it leaves Americans sick & America alone."

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Trump had claimed he had seen evidence that gives him a "high degree of confidence" the novel coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China.