Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the World Health Organization (WHO) after it adopted the Pandemic Agreement.
In video remarks presented during the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, Kennedy said, “Like many legacy institutions, the WHO has become mired in bureaucratic bloat, entrenched paradigms, conflicts of interest, and international power politics.”
“While the United States has provided the lion’s share of the organization’s funding historically, other countries such as China have exerted undue influence over its operations in ways that serve their own interests and not particularly the interests of the global public.”
“Not only has the WHO capitulated to political pressure from China, it’s also failed to maintain an organization characterized by transparency and fair governance by and for its Member States,” Kennedy added. “The WHO often acts like it has forgotten that its members must remain accountable to their own citizens and not to transnational or corporate interests.”
Kennedy went on to condemn the organization for failing to “come to terms” with its response to COVID-19. “Instead, it has doubled down with the Pandemic Agreement, which will lock in all of the dysfunctions of the WHO pandemic response.”
He asserted that the United States will not “participate” in the agreement.
“We need to reboot the whole system, as we are doing in the United States,” he said. “Here in the United States, we’re going to continue to focus on infectious disease and pandemic preparedness, but we’re also fundamentally shifting the priorities of our health agencies to focus on chronic diseases, which are prevalent in the United States.”
The statement comes as the WHO officially adopted its Pandemic Agreement after three years of negotiation.
“The world is safer today thanks to the leadership, collaboration and commitment of our Member States to adopt the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The Agreement is a victory for public health, science and multilateral action. It will ensure we, collectively, can better protect the world from future pandemic threats. It is also a recognition by the international community that our citizens, societies and economies must not be left vulnerable to again suffer losses like those endured during COVID-19.”
