The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, has said the World Health Organisation (WHO) is critical to the survival of the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a video posted on the official Twitter handle of Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, the NCDC boss said WHO has been helpful in saving lives.
According to Dr Ihekweazu, WHO is critical to Africa, adding that it provides expertise for the continent and thus, funding it is important.
“The funding for WHO is so important,” he said. “It is hard to really explain to somebody living outside of the continent how important this organization is for the work that we do.”
He explained that “We rely on them for guidance. Lives are saved because of the work they do. We don’t have the luxury of this continent to build up all the infrastructure on our own, the knowledge, the expertise they offer.
“So, the organization is critical to our collective survival, and therefore, the collective survival of the world.”
The NCDC boss warned that halting funding for the body may spell doom for the world.
Dr Ihekweazu said: “A price will be paid and I hope we’ll never get to that stage. But if the funding for WHO is affected in the way it may be, that will be a huge price for humanity to pay and not just all of us on this side of the world. I really hopes that comes to pass.”
He, therefore, called for more support and funding for WHO to enable the organisation “to do the critical work it does on our behalf.”
US Halts Funding
US President, Donald Trump had last week Tuesday said he was instructing his administration to halt funding while “a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.”
Trump explained that the US will now “discuss what to do with all that money that goes to the WHO.”
The US, which is the WHO’s biggest contributor, accused the organisation last week of “mismanaging” the COVID-19 crisis, drawing ire from Beijing as both countries spar over the deadly virus.
China Gives $30m
China announced on Thursday it will give another $30 million to the WHO to help in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the new donation would be in addition to a previous $20 million committed, and would help “strengthen developing countries’ health systems”.
SOURCE CHANNELS TV
