The mass hysteria and suffering spawned in the aftermath of a possibly preventable pandemic laid bare the connection between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) that stymied moves to attempt to prevent the global spread of the novel coronavirus.
The CCP modus operandi of arresting whistleblower-physicians and censoring media played a significant role in withholding vital information about the epidemic until it was too late.
The WHO remained silent when China silenced whistleblowers who tried to warn the public about the outbreak and it delayed officially declaring the coronavirus a pandemic, while the CCP virus spread internationally.
As the virus continued spreading across Europe and reached America, the WHO recommended no interference with international travel.
In a classified report to the White House, US intelligence concluded that China concealed the extent of the coronavirus outbreak, under-reporting both total cases and deaths it suffered from the deadly disease.
An interim report from the House Foreign Affairs Committee said the Chinese president knew there was a pandemic ongoing weeks before it was announced, and that it is highly likely it could have been prevented.
China did not report sustained human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus and admitted it ordered labs to destroy virus samples (which is a direct contravention of WHO protocols), possibly setting the world back months.
The delay allowed China to hoard essential medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) from abroad, according to the CIA.
WHO ignored findings from medical experts in Taiwan who conducted evaluations of the outbreak in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Taiwan was distributing face masks to its citizens, the WHO was advising the rest of the world that they were unnecessary—and initially, the Centers for Disease Control and US Surgeon General followed its lead.
The WHO leadership ran interference for China’s propaganda war meant to absolve the communist nation of responsibility for the global spread of COVID-19.
Leaked documents from the UN health agency showed its officials were well aware CCP was withholding vital information about the coronavirus in January, even as WHO leadership extravagantly praised China for its transparency.
At no point has the WHO criticized CCP, despite evidence of its delivery of faulty PPE.
The CCP and the WHO need to be held accountable because this historically devastating pandemic has led to the biggest humanitarian crisis and shutdown of the US and global economy.
The seeming collusion between the CCP and WHO is incredibly concerning and seems unprecedented. The CCP can deny what they did, they can hide behind the news and WHO, but the incriminating evidence about the origin of the virus and the cover-up was hard to dismiss and needs thorough investigation.
The WHO’s egregious failure to respond to the outbreak prompted the Trump administration to redirect funds dedicated to aiding other countries to organizations other than WHO after it lost credibility for failing to properly alert the world about the possible health emergency caused by the spread of the CCP virus.
National security adviser Robert O'Brien has accused the WHO of being a propaganda tool for China and said the White House is investigating whether money from China influenced the WHO judgments during the coronavirus crisis.
By consistently bending to the CCP at the expense of global health and of containing the spread of the coronavirus, from downplaying the extent of the virus to systematically excluding Taiwan, the WHO has lost the credibility to be effective, and a reevaluation of its leadership is urgently called for.
The WHO proved to be an agenda-driven organization. The UN health agency entrusted in the prevention of infectious diseases and managing epidemics has violated its far grander global mission, nothing less than the attainment by all people of the highest possible levels of health.
The CCP’S failure to disseminate accurate information about COVID-19 is a violation of 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) which specifically requires member states to notify the WHO—within 24 hours of assessment—of any events which may constitute a “public health emergency of international concern.”
The report that WHO feared CCP would attack its scientists if criticized on coronavirus was a flimsy excuse. Instead of exposing CCP deceit to the global community, the WHO praised their response and was complicit in China cover-up.
It is just incredible and unconscionably irresponsible, what the CCP and WHO have done to internationally herald this seeming bioterrorism in unison, immune to scrutiny and exempt from prosecution for their apparent complicity in the deadly bio-crime.
Considering the enormities of global death, the entire leadership of the WHO needs to step down and be investigated.
A reckoning with WHO is becoming all but inevitable. WHO Director-General Tedros who was not trained as a medical doctor and had no global health management experience, has seriously erred in his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tedros was previously accused of covering up the cholera epidemics in Africa in 2017. Before that, Tedros faced allegations that he refused to investigate three cholera outbreaks when he served as Ethiopia health minister.
Nonetheless, few would have imagined that the WHO chief would not act on China's deception.
As a matter of justice, and to prevent future pandemics, China must be held accountable for violating its treaty obligations and the WHO called to order.
Joe Tuzara, M.D. is a humanitarian advocate, was a clinical research-physician-general surgeon for Saudi Arabian, Philippine and American healthcare systems and is currently an American freelance writer as well as an op-ed contributor.
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