"Ireland strongly supports WHO in efforts to coordinate a global response to combat Covid-19."
Tánaiste Simon Coveney has announced that Ireland will be quadrupling it's contribution to the World Health Organisation, following the US decision to withdraw its funding.
This means Ireland will contribute €9.5 million to the WHO this year.
"Ireland strongly supports WHO in efforts to coordinate a global response to combat Covid-19," Coveney wrote.
"So many countries rely on UN expertise and capacity to save lives. Ireland is quadrupling our normal annual financial contribution to WHO for 2020 to €9.5 million."
#Ireland strongly supports @WHO in efforts to coordinate a global response to combat #COVID19. So many countries rely on @UN expertise and capacity to save lives. Ireland is quadrupling our normal annual financial contribution to @WHO for 2020 to €9.5 million.
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) April 16, 2020
US withdrawal.
Upon announcing the withdrawal of US funds, US President Donald Trump said the WHO had "failed in its basic duty" in its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
He claims the organisation was slow in raising the alarm over the global Covid-19 threat and being too “China-centric” in its response.
"I am directing my administration to halt funding while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organisation's role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus," Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
Mr. Coveney labelled Trump's decision to pull US funding from the WHO "indefensible" and called for "unity" in order to save lives.
