Just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization due to concerns about China’s outsize role, a top leader at the global organization has begun fundraising on social media.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the infectious disease epidemiologist who served as the WHO’s technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic, posted on X on Thursday morning asking for donations to the WHO Foundation.
As of Friday afternoon, only around $23,000 had been raised toward a $1 billion goal.
Consider a donation to @WHO via the @WHOFoundation– One Dollar, One World#ProudToBeWHOhttps://t.co/tCKc41ef3M
— Maria Van Kerkhove (@mvankerkhove) January 23, 2025
It’s a meager fraction of the $706 million shortfall in contributions anticipated from the U.S. for the 2024-2025 two-year budget period — 18 percent of the organization’s…
