The US will pay more than $200 million in dues to the World Health Organization (WHO) as it reverses former US President Donald Trump’s decision to leave the health authority, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
“This is a key step forward in fulfilling our financial obligations as a WHO member and it reflects our renewed commitment to ensuring the WHO has the support it needs to lead the global response to the pandemic even as we work to reform it for the future,” Blinken told the U.N. Security Council during a videoconference.
The funds, which include assessed and current financial obligations, will be paid by the end of the month, Blinken told the UN Security Council as it discussed the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump opted to unilaterally withdraw the US from the WHO in 2020 amid disagreements about its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, accusing it of working in lockstep with China and making deadly missteps early on in the outbreak.
Blinken also called for his China counterparts to combat misinformation on vaccines and to share any relevant information on the origins of the coronavirus to investigators
