ATLANTA — Former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement on Wednesday in reference to current President Donald Trump's decision to halt funding to the World Health Organization pending a review of its warnings about the coronavirus and China.
President Trump made the announcement during his evening task force briefing yesterday and claimed the World Health Organization failed to carry out its "basic duty" with the coronavirus pandemic and must be held accountable.
Trump says the outbreak could have been contained at its source and spared lives had the U.N. health agency done a better job investigating reports coming out of China.
President Carter said he is "distressed" by the decision to withhold "critically needed" U.S. funding for the organization during an international pandemic.
"WHO is the only international organization capable of leading the effort to control this virus," Carter said in the statement.
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