[Pervis_Griffith]

Originally Posted by GridIron26

Where did you guys get that information from? I did some research and my findings shows that China isn't even #1 contributor to the WHO's funding.

Edit: in case you want to see where I got the info from:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ponse-funders/

https://www.who.int/emergencies/dise...rtners/funding

My biggest issue with WHO is who leads the organization, and how he got there. Enter China. Here are some facts about the Director General of the World Health Organization:

1. Dr. Tedros is the first African Director-General to be appointed to the WHO, and the first in its 72-year history to not be a medical doctor. He has never practiced as a medical doctor. His doctorate degree is in philosophy in community health and he holds a master of science in the immunology of infectious diseases.


2. As foreign minister from 2012 and 2016, Tedros became the face of a government that human rights groups accused of systematic torture, disappearances and repression of the media and civil society. In Ethiopia’s controversial 2015 general elections, Tedros’ ruling EPRDF declared that it won all 547 seats of legislature amid reports of continued repression.

Source: Quartz Africa

3. At the time of Dr. Tedros’s appointment to the WHO, Frida Ghitis of the Washington Post noted that China “worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help Tedros defeat the United Kingdom candidate for the WHO job, David Nabarro. Tedros’s victory was also a victory for Beijing, whose leader Xi Jinping has made public his goal of flexing China’s muscle in the world.”

4. He was also accused of covering up cholera outbreaks in Ethiopia when he served as health minister. Whether it's true or not, I'm not totally sure, but not something that should even be in question ... and to have it happen in three separate years is pretty damning.

"During the 2017 election itself, several groups within Ethiopia opposed Dr Tedros’s appointment due to his links with the TPLF and allegations that they stifled journalists and repressed minorities.

Dr Tedros was also accused of covering up three separate cholera outbreaks in 2006, 2008 and 2011 by mis-reporting it as ‘watery diarrhea’, allegations he dismissed as a ‘smear campaign’ by his British rival.

Source: Daily Mail"


Here's one article on the relationship with China and WHO ...


https://www.dw.com/en/what-influence...who/a-53161220

At the start of this century, the agency received almost half of its money as dues from member states, but that has now dropped to around 20% of its funds. This meant that the WHO has become more reliant on voluntary contributions to carry out its mandate.

Experts say this dependence leaves the WHO — which is lauded for its role in the elimination of smallpox, the near-eradication of polio and the fight against diseases like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis — highly susceptible to the influence of individual countries or organizations.

____

Despite its low share in the WHO's overall funding, experts say China's rising financial contributions increase its heft, particularly at a time when the US is seen to be giving up on international organizations and threatening to cut global health funding.

"China's potential of becoming a major WHO contributor must necessarily be an alluring prospect for the UN agency," said MERICS expert des Garets Geddes.

Observers also point out that cooperation between the WHO and China has been on the rise, be it along China's "Health Silk Road" initiative or in support of the WHO's goal of universal health coverage by 2030.

"These are projects that matter to Tedros and the WHO," said des Garets Geddes. He also stressed that China's growing economic and diplomatic clout allows Beijing to influence political decisions and build coalitions across the world. "This is especially true in the 'Global South' — an important region for the WHO. The World Health Organization needs to have China on its side."

A highly sensitive issue

Critics also point to Taiwan's continued exclusion from the WHO as evidence of Beijing's influence. Since China acceded to the UN in 1971, it has periodically blocked Taiwan from membership in international organizations like the WHO on the grounds that the democratically governed island is part of China.


Other than all this, I'm cool with WHO.