US Blasts WHO Over Anemic Response To COVID-19

The United States has faulted the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its negligence of duty, accusing the UN health agency of failing to provide vital information on the coronavirus pandemic that could have been critical in the saving of lives.

This was said by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar in a video address to the organisation's main annual meeting.

Azar said, “We must be frank about one of the primary reasons this outbreak spun out of control: there was a failure by this organisation to obtain the information that the world needed, and that failure cost many lives."

Azar maintained that the WHO needed to work to become more transparent in its dealings, as he had followed closely the WHO's response to the outbreak of the disease.

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The United States has two subjects in its cross hairs, blaming both parties for their failure to do the needful. It blames China for its secrecy over the pandemic, allowing it to become a real threat before announcing it to the world, and now blames the WHO for its failure to obtain information that could have been used to save lives.

The anger directed at the WHO and China possibly stems from the sad fact that the US has recorded more infections and deaths than any other country in the world.

Azar said, “In an apparent attempt to conceal this outbreak, at least one member state made a mockery of their transparency obligations, with tremendous costs for the entire world.

“We saw that the WHO failed at its core mission of information sharing and transparency when member states do not act in good faith.

“This cannot ever happen again. The status quo is intolerable. WHO must change, and it must become far more transparent and far more accountable.”