The World Health Organization (WHO) has come under fire lately for its handling of the coronavirus. However, the problems within the organization go deeper than that one event. On April 1, The Daily Signal posted an article noting where much of the money that is given to the WHO is spent.
The article reports:
The World Health Organization spends twice as much on travel as it does on medical supplies, according to its most recent financial report.
Eight percent of WHO’s budget in 2018 went to travel expenses, while just 4% went to medical supplies and materials, the report shows.
“Of total travel expenditure, only 45% was for staff travel, the rest was incurred for non-staff travel, mainly for meeting participants nominated by Member States,” the report states.
WHO’s travel expenditures have faced scrutiny in the past.
The Associated Press reported in 2017 that WHO “routinely has spent about $200 million a year on travel expenses, more than what it doles out to fight some of the biggest problems in public health, including AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.”
The organization has only barely cut its travel spending since then.
Travel expenses dropped by just 1% between 2017 and 2018, according to WHO’s report.
The article concludes:
Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott on Tuesday called for a congressional investigation into whether WHO helped China’s communist government cover up the virus in its early stages.
The senator also called for congressional hearings on whether the United States should continue funding WHO. The United States contributes nearly 15% of WHO’s annual budget, far more than any other WHO member.
“They need to be held accountable for their role in promoting misinformation and helping Communist China cover up a global pandemic,” Scott said Tuesday.
The United Nations is, unfortunately, not known for the integrity of its organizations. Remember the food-for-oil scandal of years ago. I truly believe that any bureaucracy, given the chance, will become corrupt. In recent years, the United Nations and its organizations have proven this theory. The United Nations is no longer controlled by countries who support democracy and freedom for all people. Even the Human Rights Council includes members that are blatant in their human rights abuses and denial of freedom for the people in their countries. Not only is it time to de-fund the WHO–it is time to de-fund the United Nations.