US foreign aid agency wants WHO management review

The acting head of the US Agency for International Development said on Wednesday that the US would assess whether the World Health Organization was being run properly and look for alternative partners outside the body.

Washington will also use this time to look for alternative partners outside the WHO to continue to carry out “important work” such as on vaccines, to ensure there is no disruption to U.S. aid efforts, said John Barsa, who heads USAID, the key U.S. government agency that administers foreign aid, Reuters reports.

Separately, the United States announced more than US$270 million in additional foreign assistance provided by Congress to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

Barsa told reporters the review would be “all-encompassing” and said there were many management questions, including how the WHO has held “member states accountable” for their actions.

“Is the management of the World Health Organization running it the way it should be run?,” was the key question, he said.

The possibility of the US ceasing its funding definitively to the global body is contingent upon US President Donald Trump succeeding in his bid for re-election in the November presidential vote, against the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

The US Congress controls federal spending, and could pass legislation to guarantee funding for the WHO. However, to become law, it would need Trump's signature or enough support, including from Republicans, to pass override a potential veto.