Lead

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the World Health Organization (WHO) was "a little late" in identifying the deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Speaking to reporters, Rubio said, "The lead is obviously going to be CDC (the Centers for Disease Control) and the World Health Organization, which was a little late to identify this thing unfortunately."

His comments come as the United States, which is in the process of withdrawing from the WHO, steps up its own response. Rubio said the US, which has committed about $13m in assistance, hopes to open about 50 clinics to treat Ebola in the DRC. He acknowledged the challenges of the location, describing it as a "hard-to-get-to place in a war-torn country."

Coverage Comparison

The Guardian reported Rubio's remarks alongside expert criticism. Gigi Gronvall, an immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, rejected the criticism, saying that "Blaming the WHO is misplaced, because they are operating with limited resources in a difficult setting with many security challenges." She added that it was a "strategic mistake" and a "national security vulnerability" that the US is now worse off to handle infectious diseases due to slashed public health resources.

South China Morning Post focused on the broader impact of the US withdrawal, highlighting the plight of Vanuatu. Its director of public health, Jenny Stephens, lobbied for support at the WHO assembly, saying, "We are experiencing the global funding cuts – it's affecting our programmes like malaria, TB and HIV. We're already struggling." The outlet also noted that the WHO estimates aid cuts have deprived some 53 million people of access to healthcare.

The Hindu reported Rubio's comments and added context about the WHO's delay, citing an anonymous State Department official who said the WHO took 10 days to confirm the outbreak. The official said, "We are now four days into our response; we could have been 14." The Hindu also reported that the same official accused the WHO of "covering up the COVID-19 pandemic for the Chinese Communist Party," a charge the WHO contests.

Key Claims

  • Rubio criticized the WHO for being "a little late" in identifying the Ebola outbreak.
  • The WHO announced the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern.
  • The US has committed $13m in assistance to open 50 clinics to treat Ebola in the DRC.
  • The US withdrawal from the WHO has led to the loss of nearly a quarter of the WHO's workforce.
  • Experts have warned that the US is unprepared for the next pandemic due to sweeping layoffs in health agencies.
  • Vanuatu's director of public health lobbied for support at the WHO assembly.
  • China has emerged as the WHO's biggest assessed contributor.
  • The WHO estimates that aid cuts have deprived 53 million people of access to healthcare.
  • The WHO took 10 days to confirm the Ebola outbreak.
  • The US has drastically slashed foreign assistance and dismantled the US Agency for International Development.

Perspectives

US State Department: Rubio argues the WHO was slow, while an anonymous official claims the delay cost valuable response time and accuses the WHO of past failures, including on COVID-19.

Public health expert: Gigi Gronvall asserts that blaming the WHO is unfair given resource constraints, and warns that US cuts make the country more vulnerable.

WHO member state (Vanuatu): Officials like Jenny Stephens highlight the severe impact of funding cuts on health programs in developing nations.

WHO: The organization contests US charges regarding COVID-19, maintaining it must cooperate with all countries.