US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said WHO was bribed by China and added “many British deaths”. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denied the allegation.
Mr Tedros also said the claims were “untrue and unacceptable,” according to Politico .
“The organization’s focus is on saving people,” Tedros said on July 23, adding that “WHO will not be distracted by these comments and we do not want the international community to be distracted.”
Earlier, on July 21, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the allegations at an event in London, England and announced the allegations on a “solid intelligence base”.
Pompeo also alleges that China ‘s influence on WHO has led to “more British deaths.”
The WHO director-general said that Pompeo’s statements were “unfounded” and added that “politicization of the pandemic” has become a major threat.
“Must stay away from politics based on Covid-19,” Mr. Tedros said.
Tedros’s colleague Maria Van Kerkhove – an American scientist and head of WHO’s Covid-19 response team – defended him.
Ms. Kerkhove said that she felt “honored and privileged” to work with Mr. Tedros. Kerkhove also said that she “has never been as proud of WHO as she is now”.
The US Secretary of State continued to criticize WHO when he arrived in Denmark. Mike Pompeo told a journalist that WHO was “politicized”.
“This organization has been bribed,” Pompeo repeated.