21 April 2020, NIICE Commentary 4187
Dr. Rachit Murarka
It is not the first time that World Health Organiation (WHO) has been criticized for handling a pandemic situation. The WHO was criticized for declaring a flu pandemic in 2009 that triggered expensive measures in some countries. Some countries deemed it unnecessary and even termed it as a false alarm. Declaration of a pandemic is a critical job and it needs to be done with utmost care. Declaring a pandemic triggers travel restriction and other advisories, which can lead to economic chaos. Retrospective criticism is an easy task, but every disease comes with its own set of challenges, and peculiarity. Every situation needs to be handled differently, and there is no one-size, fit-all formula to declare a pandemic. The WHO in past has faced the wrath of many nations for declaring a pandemic. The task of declaring pandemic is a very critical issue, and due to this the WHO has often become the scapegoat for leaders to cover up their ill-preparedness.
Amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic, US President Donald Trump is spearheading the tirade against the WHO, in which he is aided by American media. Things have reached to such a critical level that, more than 30 per cent of Americans believe that COVID-19 is synthesized in labs. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, about one-third of Americans surveyed believed that COVID-19 was created by humans in a laboratory, and large numbers of believers are young people. President Trump to prove his point has halted the funding to the WHO. This decision will have a severe impact on the WHO because the contribution of more than USD 400 million is by the the US in 2019, which is almost twice the amount of the second-largest state member contribution. That makes the US largest contributor to the WHO by a very big margin.
The reason behind this harsh decision by Trump has less to do with the functioning of WHO, and more to do with the upcoming US election. It is a counterfactual proposition, but had this crisis taken place in 2021, with Trump again in White House, he would not have taken this decision. Trump has projected an image where the world is hitchhiking on America. The world is a safe and secure place on American expenses, and in return, America does not get its due credit. His disdain for international law and order, as well as international institutions is not a hidden fact, and the WHO is not an exception to it. Whether it is World Trade Organisation, International Court of Justice, or the WHO, Trump has a problem with almost every institution. The rant is further exacerbated because of the year 2020: the American Presidential Election year. It appears that in this time of distress Trump’s concern is to get re-elected, more than anything else. This overwhelming anxiety of Trump regarding his re-election to the White House is prompting him to take irresponsible decisions. By taking this decision to halt the fund of the WHO, he has projected his image as a strong man, which goes very well with his voters. Trump was warned of COVID-19’s devastating impact in January but he downplayed the threat then. The decision to halt fund is an attempt to blame the WHO for the disaster that has struck America, while he wishes to do away with his accountability. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that Trump blamed Obama for lack of coronavirus tests. He does not want to owe any responsibility.
The harsh decision by Trump and outburst of media against the WHO cannot diminish its importance. The WHO has done remarkable job in countries in crisis, whether it is Iraq, Syria, South Sudan or Yemen. The WHO in collaboration with national governments has controlled the occurrence of many communicable diseases. Besides this, the WHO is the authority on disseminating the news relating to disease outbreaks, and issuing travel advisories for different countries.
In all this pandemonium, sensible discussion on the nature and uniqueness of COVID-19 is absent. Still, there is no clear understanding of COVID-19 – every day, new facts and findings are emerging from various researches around the world. COVID-19 is a result of constant mutation, thus making COVID-19 a unique virus this world has not come across. COVID-19 is virulent enough to detour immune system of a person, but at the same time, is not fatal enough to kill a person instantly. Many people who are COVID-19 positive do not exhibit any symptoms instantly; it takes 2-14 days for symptoms to become visible. This unique feature of the virus makes it more dangerous; as asymptomatic person unknowingly spread the virus. As per the WHO, the numbers of fatalities have already crossed 160,000 by 21 April. COVID-19 has thrown unprecedented challenge before the global community, and halting the fund to the WHO at this juncture would not help the situation – rather, it would be devastatingly counterproductive.
The WHO understands the mounting criticism on the organization, and to counter the criticism the WHO has released a timeline showing the actions it has taken to handle the crisis. Anyone can visit the timeline, and if the actions are assessed without any prejudice, it can be observed that the WHO has taken all the necessary action that was expected from it. The position of the WHO can be best summed as “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” situation.
