WASHINGTON — The United States said on Wednesday that it will not pay some $80 million it currently owes to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) and will instead redirect the money to help pay its United Nations bill in New York. The United States plans to leave WHO on July 6, 2021, after President Donald Trump accused it of becoming a puppet for China during the coronavirus pandemic. The WHO rejected Trump's assertions. Under a 1948 joint resolution of the U.S. Congress, Trump had to give one-year notice of the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO and is required to pay what Washington's owes for the organization's current fiscal year. Nerissa Cook, State Department Bureau of International Organization Affairs deputy assistant secretary of state, said the United States currently owes the WHO some $18 million for financial year 2019 and $62 million for financial year 2020.

Source: International New York Times September 02, 2020 21:33 UTC