WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at a daily briefing in Geneva, Switzerland on March 9. Photo: Xinhua

US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend US payments to the World Health Organization in the midst of the present pandemic is outrageous and grossly irresponsible, which prioritizes his own electoral fortunes over the needs of the American people and people around the world, Martin Jacques, a senior fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University, told the Global Times via email.

The WHO plays a crucial role in looking after the health of the world, and rather than being cut back, its work needs to be greatly expanded, Jacques, who is also the author of When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order, said, noting that the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) pandemic cannot be solved on a nation-by-nation basis, but requires concerted global action that brings all nations together.

Trump announced on Tuesday that the US would halt funding for the WHO over its coronavirus response, accusing the organization of severely mismanaging and covering up the outbreak and claiming that the WHO made a dangerous decision in opposing travel restrictions from China and other nations.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, said in a press conference on Wednesday that the organization regrets the decision of the US to order a halt in funding to the WHO, emphasizing that with support from the people and government of the US, the WHO works to improve the health of many of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people.

Fighting the pandemic "is a classic example of the fundamental importance of global cooperation," Jacques said.

Halting funding to the WHO is a graphic example of how Trump's America First -- or, more accurately in this context, Trump First -- policy is backward-looking and contrary to the imperatives and needs of a globalized world, he noted.

The latest move from the White House drew a backlash from a wide range of people including foreign and Chinese experts, medical professionals, key opinion influencers and geopolitical observers. Some have criticized it as an "immoral" move, and even a crime against humanity.