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WHO reform needed but Japan has no plan to cut funding: Abe
While noting that the WHO has problems and challenges, however, the prime minister said, "I am not considering slashing Japan's funding (to the agency) at all."
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Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) speaks as he declares a state of emergency during a meeting of a task force against the COVID-19 outbreak, at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Tuesday. Abe declared a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and six other parts of the country over a spike in coronavirus cases. (AFP/Franck Robinchon )
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rime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday that the World Health Organization, which faces criticism over its response to the coronavirus pandemic, is in need of reform but stressed that Japan has no plan to stop funding the UN agency.
"There are views that it is politically not neutral," Abe told a press conference, in an apparent reference to criticism including from US President Donald Trump that the WHO has taken stances favorable to China, where the new coronavirus was first reported late last year.
While noting that the WHO has problems and challenges, however, the prime minister said, "I am not considering slashing Japan's funding (to the agency) at all."
His stance is a stark contrast with Trump, who said earlier this week that the United States will halt its funding to the WHO due to its perceived failures and mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic.
Following the US move, WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus on Wednesday expressed regret over Trump's decision and stressed the importance of international cooperation in fighting against the global health crisis.
