US President Donald Trump File Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is halting funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) while a review is conducted over WHO's "role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of coronavirus." Trump has accused the organization of failing to "adequately obtain, vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion." 

WHO is the most important public health international organization under the framework of United Nations, and plays an important role in information and experience sharing amid global heath emergencies. At this critical juncture in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, when the US is in the grips of a grave struggle and the virus continues to spread worldwide, the suspension of US financial support to the WHO is akin to removing the firewood from under a boiling pot. Trump's decision is to the determent of all. 

Trump's rash decision is not entirely surprising, nor out of character. The president has long shown nothing but contempt for multilateralism and is filled with ingrained distrust for international mechanisms. His attitude and strategic philosophy is "America first." Trump thinks the US should not get involved in international affairs, assume too many international obligations or provide the world with public goods. Such ideas have gained certain popularity within the US. Since Trump took office, he has pulled the US out of a string of international organizations, thus it comes as no surprise that he has placed a hold on funding to the WHO. It's consistent with his past practices.     

The US is the WHO's biggest single funder by far. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week the US' contributions to the WHO are "for the benefit of America" and he needs to "make sure it's delivering on those taxpayer dollars." This shows that the Trump administration views global cooperation and international organization from an extremely utilitarian perspective, which is dangerous to all. 

Be it Ebola, avian influenza or novel coronavirus, the US cannot cope with threats of an epidemic alone in this era of globalization. If the US disregards other countries and regions in the virus fight, it will backfire. Washington took pleasure in China's misfortune at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in China, and now the US has become the hardest-hit region. The enemy we are facing is a virus that knows no borders, race or political leaning.   

WHO has timely and transparently shared science-based information about the coronavirus, including its genome. Of course it takes time for an organization like WHO to fully review and understand a new virus.  

The US accusations against the WHO run counter to facts. They are mere excuses used by the US to find fault with the international organization. The Trump administration, rather than WHO or China, should be blamed for the grave epidemic situation in the US. The Trump administration has responded to the coronavirus crisis in an opaque and misleading manner. It spent weeks downplaying the severity of the coming storm and misleading the public by telling people there were no need to wear masks and that the coronavirus was only as bad as the seasonal flu. Even after the epidemic began quickly spreading, Trump was reluctant to declare a state of emergency as he put economic interests and his own political interests ahead of saving lives.     

The Trump administration knows very well that it will be held most accountable. So it plays blame game, pointing fingers first at China and now the WHO. Europe is probably next in line for abuse, as reports are swirling that earliest cases in the US likely originated from travelers coming from Europe.

After the US suspends the WHO's financial support, there will be a funding gap that may directly influence its efficiency and capability. But the possibility that this will create a domino effect is small. Most of countries in the world are sober-minded, rational and supporters of multilateralism.  

Undermining the WHO amid the global pandemic can only fuel the virus. If the US doesn't resume funding after its review, other WHO members will have to increase contributions to fill the gap to allow the organization to function as efficiently as possible. They will likely renegotiate share of funding and China may inevitably become a bigger contributor. 

The author is deputy director of the Center for US Studies at Fudan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn