WASHINGTON: Mike Pompeop, US Secretary of State voiced openness to US participation in World Health Organization (WHO) efforts on polio and other diseases, despite vows to freeze funds over its coronavirus response.
President Donald Trump on April 14 said he would cut off money to the UN body which he accused of acting too late on the pandemic and blindly taking the word of China, where the SARS-CoV-2 virus was first detected.
Pompeo, in two interviews on Thursday, said the Trump administration recognized that the WHO worked on a wide range of issues.
“We’re trying to figure out, are there pieces of it that still make sense? It’s done good work in some places on polio and the like,” Pompeo told conservative radio host Chris Stigall.
Pompeo separately told host Jack Heath: “Let’s see if there’s a piece of this which we ought to continue to participate in because it´s doing good work on polio or whatever it may be.”
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