US President Donald Trump is angry with WHO. Me too. We are all angry with WHO for some reason. But Trump's reasons do not make much sense. Here is his charge sheet. First, that WHO is a bloated bureaucracy that needs urgent reform. Second, that the US Government pays too much to the agency compared with other member states. Third, that WHO covered up the origins of COVID-19. Finally, that WHO mismanaged the COVID-19 pandemic. I am told that Trump might have remained a member state on three conditions: that the current WHO Director-General (DG), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, resigned; that his successor was an American; and that China increased its contributions to the agency. These conditions were ludicrously impossible to deliver. But the US Government has not turned its back on WHO entirely. At last week's Executive Board meeting in Geneva, the US sent a delegation, and their representatives spoke in several debates. WHO is still sharing information—eg, on health emergencies—with the US. At some deep level, US diplomats know that WHO plays too important a part in monitoring disease, supporting countries, and convening experts to risk completely cutting off ties.
Read more here