The performance of the World Health Organization (WHO) vis-à-vis the coronavirus pandemic is hard to be labelled as positive or negative. WHO heavily relied on the information, rather misinformation, which was given by the Chinese doctors. It would be unfair not to mention the positive efforts rendered by WHO. They have been trying their best to help the world. However, WHO, unknowingly, conveyed some ambiguous messages about COVID-19 that proved to be untrue eventually. Donald Trump cunningly took the opportunity to try to evade the charges of mismanagement levelled against him in his country.
In January, Trump boasted that Americans were the safest species on the planet. Later on, it proved to be untrue; the reported death toll in the US has risen to more than 25,000 up till now. The accurate number of deaths that is concealed by the American government to save face is unknown. The election 2020 is drawing near. It is expected that Trump will no longer remain the favourite of a vigilant state like the US. Had it been a third world country, the masses would have still canvassed for an irresponsible person. Trump realises this and is trying his best to throw dirt into the eyes of Americans by portraying WHO as a scapegoat. Maybe, he has forgotten that Americans cannot be fooled that easily. International media has also criticised Trump for not admitting that he could have done better to curb the impact of the pandemic.
No country, sect, person or creed should be blamed for the spread of the coronavirus
If WHO is taken into consideration, it is not a supernatural organisation. It will reflect what the local experts say. The doctors of China were not able to comprehend the details of the virus initially, so it would be nonsensical to say that WHO could have done it. WHO receives the biggest chunk of its funding from the US. Although the US offered $400 million to WHO last year, it does not mean that it can blame the organisation for its sins.
As per the reports of AJ plus, a vaccine has been discovered recently by the US. It is being tested on several volunteers. The credit of this good step must be given to the US. It will be the greatest achievement of the decade or perhaps, the century, if the vaccine works, but the onus of mismanagement and rapid increase in cases of coronavirus will still be associated with the Trump administration. Mike Pompeo has recently given a critical statement about the working of WHO. It would be wise if the White House stops justifying its negligence and starts to make amends.
WHO cannot react to Pompeo’s comments as WHO is primarily funded by the US. Secondly, it is not the right time to get entangled in blame games. It is essential to unite and fight against the pandemic. WHO is already actively working on the social networking websites to spread awareness. The message of social distancing is re-affirmed into the minds of millions of people via social media.
WHO is not a powerless organ of the UN. It has the power of uniting medical experts of the world on one platform. What the world needs right now is the union of doctors and medical researches via internet. Online calling apps should be used by medical teams of all the countries. This initiative can be taken by WHO. With a decent budget, WHO can easily take up this task. If education can take place at home so can medical research. Countries renowned for their medical expertise are requested to incentivise doctors by providing medical and technical support at home. This will be beneficial to the world in the long run.
Trump cannot tolerate the end of his dream of becoming the president for the second time, and therefore, he is trying to find fault with WHO. It will be beneficial to the Trump administration if they simply focus on their domestic issues, especially the spread of the coronavirus. Every head of the state needs to follow the Chinese containment policies. It’s not about capitalism or communism this time, it’s much more serious: it’s about the global survival.
Once the malady gets under control in the US, Trump will again become favourite of the hoi polloi. The world should try to adopt the Chinese social distancing policies and relevant measures to get rid of the pandemic. No country, sect, person or creed should be blamed for the spread of the coronavirus. Let us keep calm, take precautionary measures and pray for the restoration of global social, political, economic and cultural order.
The writer is a lawyer and a political analyst