White House says Trump, French president agree on ‘Need to Reform WHO’

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on the need to reform the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said after a phone call between the two presidents that the two leaders expressed hopes to convene the five permanent members of the UN Security Council soon to discuss a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump and Macron also talked about “critical regional and bilateral issues”, Deer noted.

The men discussed “positive developments in combating the coronavirus pandemic and progress toward reopening world economies”.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump cut funding for the World Health Organization, accusing the agency of “being China-biased” and claiming that “thousands of lives could be saved, had the WHO done its job”.

Following the finance cut, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that he regretted Trump’s decision to withdraw the money and expressed hope that the United States would continue to partner with the agency in the future.