The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday it had "nothing hidden in the United States" on the Covid-19 disease, which has killed more than 165,000 people worldwide since its appearance in December in China.
"Nothing has been hidden in the United States from day one," said UN agency chief executive officer Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a virtual press conference, repeatedly hammering that "there is no secret at WHO ”. "We launched the alert from day one," he said.
Beside him, the director of the emergency programs of the WHO, Michael Ryan, indicated that there had even been since January 1 about fifteen representatives of the Center of American control and prevention of the diseases (CDC) seconded at WHO headquarters in Geneva as part of the “response to Covid-19”.
The United States suspended early last week US funding for WHO, accused of being too close to China and mismanaging the pandemic.
Pressure increased on April 16 in the United States when Republicans in Congress called on President Donald Trump to condition the allocation of new funds to the resignation of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whom they accuse of having "failed" to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
In Geneva, the head of the WHO has firmly defended his position, even suggesting that "the fact that CDC staff are here, it gives them an advantage".
“There is no secret at WHO. Because if we keep information secret or confidential it is dangerous. There is no secret at the WHO, ”he insisted heavily.
He also reiterated his call for "national unity" and "global solidarity", assuring that "we should not be afraid" of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Without national unity and global solidarity, I can assure you: the worst awaits us. So let's prevent this tragedy, "said Tedros, assuring that" politics is likely to fuel the pandemic. "
Washington deplores that its own measures in response to the crisis, in particular the gradual closing of its borders, have met with "strong resistance" from the WHO, which "has continued to salute the Chinese leaders for their willingness to share the information + ”.
The U.S. government has also accused the institution of neglecting key information about a possible transmission of the coronavirus between humans from Taiwan as of the end of December 2019.
The WHO once again categorically denied receiving such information from Taiwan, which has lost observer status with the UN agency since 2016.
"Taiwan did not notify human-to-human transmission, they just asked for clarification, as did other entities," said Tedros, referring to the email sent by the Taiwanese authorities to WHO on December 31, 2019. .
"The letter from Taiwan aimed to obtain clarification (...) on the basis of the report from China," he added, insisting that "the first report came from China."