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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Maria Cheng and Jamey Keaten

WHO chief asks countries to push Washington to reconsider its withdrawal

Switzerland - (' KEYSTONE / MARTIAL TREZZINI)

The World Health Organization chief asked global leaders to lean on Washington to reverse President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the U.N. health agency, insisting in a closed-door meeting with diplomats last week that the U.S. will miss out on critical information about global disease outbreaks.

But countries also pressed WHO at a key budget meeting last Wednesday about how it might cope with the exit of its biggest donor, according to internal meeting materials obtained by The Associated Press. A German envoy, Bjorn Kummel, warned: “The roof is on fire, and we need to stop the fire as soon as possible.”

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