World Health Organization says it has $1.3 billion funding shortfall

LONDON — The head of the World Health Organization says the agency needs $1.7 billion to fund its response efforts for covid-19 for the rest of the year — and that it’s about $1.3 billion short.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was suspending funding to the U.N. health agency, saying WHO botched its response to the coronavirus pandemic and was acting as a public relations agency for China.

WHO said previously it was conducting an assessment of what the loss of U.S. funding would mean for its operations.

In a press briefing Friday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said WHO’s covid-19 strategic plan is focused on several objectives, including providing technical and logistical support to all countries, particularly those with fragile health systems.

He said the estimated $1.7 billion “only covers WHO’s needs, not the entire global (community’s) needs.”

Tedros noted that Friday marked 40 years since the day smallpox was officially eradicated from the planet.

“That same solidarity built on national unity is needed now more than ever to defeat covid-19,” he said.