MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

WHO's Tedros rebukes Trump and calls for unity: ”For God's sake ... is this (death toll) not enough?”

“US and China should come together and fight this dangerous enemy,” Tedros told a virtual press. “The focus of all political parties should be to save their people”

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday pleaded for global unity in fighting the coronavirus and gave a strident defense of his agency's handling of the pandemic, in response to US President Donald Trump's criticism.

As the WHO prepares to mark 100 days on Thursday since it was first notified of the outbreak in China, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hit back at accusations that it had been too close to Beijing.

The UN's health agency has faced criticism in the past both for overreacting and for moving too slowly in fighting epidemics, but it has rarely faced as much scrutiny as with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump piled in on Tuesday, accusing the WHO having “called it wrong” and months too late, while taking US money but favoring China.

US contributions to the WHO in 2019 exceeded US$400 million, almost double the second-largest country donor, according to US figures. The WHO website shows the United States as its top donor, contributing nearly 15 per cent of the budget.

Trump told the daily White House briefing on the coronavirus that Beijing's payment was a small fraction of Washington's WHO contribution, and that was “not fair at all.”

The new coronavirus, which first appeared in China in December, has killed more than 80,000 people, while more than 1.4 million people have tested positive.

“The WHO really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China-centric. We will be giving that a good look,” Trump said on Twitter.

“Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?”

Tedros urged the United States to join with China in combating the disease rather than indulging in a blame game, as he issued a stern defense of the WHO's management of the pandemic.

“The United States and China should come together and fight this dangerous enemy,” Tedros told a virtual press briefing in Geneva. The focus of all political parties should be to save their people. Please don't politicize this virus.

“If you want to have many more body bags - then you do it. If you don't want many more body bags, then you refrain from politicizing it.

Tedros also rejected Trump's suggestion that the WHO was ”China-centric“, saying: ”We are close to every nation, we are color-blind.“

Citing the death toll and number of infections, Tedros implored: ”For God's sake ... is this not enough?“

Tedros has been giving thrice-weekly virtual press conferences in a bid to be open about how the organization is dealing with the pandemic.

On Wednesday, in a highly unusual turn, Ethiopia's former health and foreign minister spoke out for the first time about the personal attacks aimed at him, including racial slurs and a death threat, during the crisis.

”I don't give a damn,“ Tedros said. ”I am a very proud black person ... When the whole black community was insulted, when Africa was insulted, then I don't tolerate,“ he added, referring to suggestions last week from two scientists about the continent's suitability as a vaccine testing ground.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres lent his support too, saying it was not the time to criticize the early response to the outbreak.

”Now is the time for unity, for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences,“ he said in a statement.

Tedros can call also on some top-level celebrity backing, such as US superstar Lady Gaga.

He has teamed up with the singer to launch a giant online coronavirus awareness concert on Apr 18 entitled ”One World: Together at Home”, featuring music icons like Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.