FILE - Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO, speaks at the Reaching The Last Mile Forum on Nov. 19, 2019, at the Louvre in Abu Dhabi.(Jonathan Gibbons/Reaching the Last Mile Forum via AP Images)
The head of the World Health Organization says he will begin an independent evaluation of the U.N. health agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic “at the earliest appropriate moment.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the pledge Monday after an independent oversight advisory body published its first interim report about the U.N. health agency’s response to COVID-19 from January to April.
The 11-page report raised questions such as whether WHO’s warning system for alerting the world to outbreaks is adequate, and suggested member states might need to “reassess” WHO’s role in providing travel advice to countries.
The advisory body’s review and recommendations appeared unlikely to appease the United States administration, which has been scathing in its criticism of WHO — in part over President Donald Trump’s allegation that it had criticized a U.S. travel ban that he ordered on people arriving from China, where the outbreak first appeared late last year.
Trump ordered a temporary suspension of funding for WHO from the United States — the health agency’s biggest single donor — pending a review of its early response. But the review panel, echoing comments from many countries, said such a review during the “heat of the response” could hurt WHO’s ability to respond to it.
Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent for McClatchy, joins Cheddar News to discuss all the topics President Biden has to juggle in his State of the Union address.
World Central Kitchen is Ukraine helping to feed people remaining in the country or fleeing from the Russian forces. Nate Mook, CEO for the non-profit, joined Cheddar New to discuss the efforts being made to help those in need in a very tenuous situation and how the invasion disrupted the lives of Ukrainian people."We met a young woman from Kyiv who had crossed into Poland, she had a great job, she just moved into a new apartment. She was really excited about decorating her apartment. You know, things that we all do on a day-to-day basis, and she had to just abandon her life," he said.
Bina Venkataraman, Boston Globe Editorial Page Editor & former White House disaster policy adviser joins Cheddar News to discuss the current state of the pandemic as well as Biden's handling of the crisis
Michael Li senior counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program joins Cheddar News to discuss gerrymandering and how it's impacting American politics
As half a million Ukrainians fled when Russia invaded its neighbor, some civilians chose to stay in harm's way. Igor Gamaniuk, a 17-year-old Ukrainian college student, joined Cheddar News to talk about his decision to remain in his beloved country and volunteer to support soldiers with food, clothing, and supplies. "Right now people are pretty calm in my town. We are trying not to panic. But we have to be cautious because every day and every night the siren could sound and we have to move away from the window or go to the nearest shelter," Gamaniuk explained.
