Europeans Working With U.S. To ‘Overhaul' WHO

The organisation has been accused of being too close to China amid the ongoing global coronavirus crisis

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European governments are working with the United States on plans to overhaul the World Health Organization, a top health official for a European country said, signalling that Europe shares some of the concerns that led Washington to say it would quit.

The European health official, who spoke on condition of anonymity while discussing initiatives that are not public, said Britain, France, Germany and Italy were discussing WHO reforms with the United States at the technical level.

‘ENSURE WHO’S INDEPENDENCE’

The aim, the official said, was to ensure WHO’s independence, an apparent reference to allegations that the body was too close to China during its initial response to the coronavirus crisis early this year. “We are discussing ways to separate WHO’s emergency management mechanism from any single country influence,” said the official.