The United States intends to remain a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO), US President Joe Biden has said in a letter to the United Nations, setting the ball rolling on mending fences internationally on a host of issues that include health and climate.
The letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres comes within hours of President Biden’s first day in office and it retracts a communication from the US administration in July last year expressing intent to withdraw from the WHO, effective July 6,2021.
The WHO had come in for some intense criticism from former President Trump for what he called their “China-centric” behaviour in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. The allegation was met with a temperate response from WHO top-brass urging Governments to not politicise the virus.
Turning the clock back, the Biden letter says unequivocally, “The WHO plays a crucial role in the world’s fight against the deadly Covid-19 pandemic as well as countless other threats to global health and health security. The United States will continue to be a full participant and a global leader in confronting such threats and advancing global health and health security.”