“Rich Nations Contribute More To WHO”: Soumya Swaminathan On Trump’s Funding Remarks

Hyderabad:

Soumya Swaminathan, former chief scientist of the World Health Organization, said on Saturday that the US would not be good for anyone including that country and the contribution to the global health watchdog depends on the GDP of the countries concerned.

Hoping that the US, which has so much technical and scientific expertise, will reconsider its decision, she said that if it pulls out, the North American nation will also be unable to access data to be part of the solutions.

“The richer the country, the more you pay because you have to pay as a percentage of your GDP. The current system is very fair. You can’t expect a small country in the middle of Africa like Congo to States should unite to pay the same amount,” Swaminthan told PTI Video on the sidelines of the Hyderabad Literary Festival here.

She was responding to US President Donald Trump’s comments that his country of 325 million people paid 500 million WHD to the WHO against China, which has 1.4 billion people, paying 39 million USD.

Trump recently signed an executive order beginning the process of withdrawing the US from the WHO, the second time in less than five years that the US has taken the step to withdraw from the world body.

He said there is a need to work together for health security in the future and to protect people from all countries, including the US.

“Even the United States would find it difficult to use the data to really know what’s going on in other parts of the world, if they have any, to know what’s going on.”

“I think it’s really not good for anyone that such an important, such a big country is holding back.” Saying that health is interconnected and all health risks are global, he said a virus originating in one part of the world today can spread across the world within 30 hours.

“Unless we have global cooperation and global policies and rules and regulations and understanding and understanding between countries, it is impossible to address the threats to global health,” Swaminthan said.

He said WHO is a place and forum where 193 countries come together and discuss issues, debate and come to a consensus before drafting rules such as international health regulations and pandemic treaties.