The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday that the reasons given by the United States for its withdrawal from the international organization were wrong, DPA reported.
“As a founding member of the WHO, the United States has contributed significantly to many of the organization's greatest achievements, including the eradication of smallpox. The WHO has always worked with the United States and all member states while fully respecting their sovereignty“, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on the social network “Ex“ (X).
“Unfortunately, the reasons given by the US for its decision to withdraw from the WHO are flawed“, Ghebreyesus said, adding that both the United States and the world are less certain.
In a statement, the WHO responded in detail for the first time to accusations made by the administration of President Donald Trump after the US formally withdrew from the organization earlier this week. It came nearly a year after President Donald Trump announced the end of the country's 78-year membership in the WHO.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused the WHO of “defaming and destroying everything America has done for it“, citing as an example its “refusing to surrender the American flag“ that is displayed in front of its headquarters. They later announced that the flag had been returned to US officials.
The WHO responded by saying that “the truth is exactly the opposite. The WHO has always sought to work with the US in a spirit of goodwill, fully respecting its sovereignty“.
The organisation also rejected US accusations that it “impeded the timely and accurate sharing of critical information“ during the coronavirus pandemic and said it hoped “in the future the US would return to active participation in the WHO“.