At his desk in the Oval Office, presidential executive orders stacked up ready for his signature, Donald Trump reacted with excitement as one gold-embossed dossier was put in front of him.
‘Ooh,’ said the President, ‘that’s a big one.’
With a flourish of his pen, he signed off on an edict that has the potential to change global health policy and perhaps ensure that when the next pandemic hits – as one will – the world is far better prepared.
The order was headed, ‘Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organisation‘ – citing ‘the organisation’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises’.
It went on: ‘The WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments. China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 400 per cent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 per cent less to the WHO.’
It’s not the first time…
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