World Health Organization

A pharmacy tech pours out pills of hydroxychloroquine May 20 at Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on May 20, 2020. After a study found COVID-19 patients using the drug were dying at higher rates, the World Health Organization announced it would suspend

WHO Halts Hydroxychloroquine Trial Over Safety Concerns

5:34pm May 25, 2020

by Jason Beaubien

The WHO cited a scientific study published last week suggesting that proposed COVID-19 drug hydroxychloroqine may do more harm than good in halting its study to review data.

As late as March 17, people eat at a restaurant along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, Fla., several days after President Trump declared a national emergency.

U.S. Could Have Saved 36,000 Lives If Social Distancing Started 1 Week Earlier: Study

1:31pm May 21, 2020

by Bill Chappell

The analysis from Columbia University focused on the period from March 15 to May 3, when states and counties implemented "measures enforcing social distancing and restricting individual contact."

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A portion of the letter that President Trump addressed to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, posted late Monday night on Twitter in the midst of WHO's annual assembly.

Fact-checking And Assessing Trump's Letter Of Rebuke To WHO

8:20pm May 20, 2020

by Pien Huang

In his letter threatening to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization and halt all funding, Trump made a number of charges about WHO's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on April 29. Pompeo criticized the World Health Organization on Monday for not inviting Taiwan to its assembly.

Pompeo Blasts WHO And China For Excluding Taiwan From This Week's Health Assembly

9:42pm May 18, 2020

by John Ruwitch

By not inviting Taiwan to its health assembly, the World Health Organization kept out "scientific expertise on pandemic disease" and "damaged the WHO's credibility," the secretary of state said.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press conference on January 30, 2020, in Geneva.

Health & Safety

'Unprecedented' World Health Assembly Convenes Online As Pandemic Rages

4:56pm May 17, 2020

by Jason Beaubien

The 73rd annual World Health Assembly, which begins Monday, will be held virtually for the first-time ever. It will also be focused on the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S., according to the World Health Organization, has paid none of this year's assessed fees and still owes $81 million from last year.

U.S. Was Behind On Payments To WHO Before Trump's Cutoff

7:43am May 07, 2020

by David Welna

President Trump put a hold on funds to the World Health Organization, but the U.S. is already behind in its dues to the organization by more than a year.

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A custodian walks down the corridor of a field hospital set up for COVID-19 patients in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has emerged as a new hot spot of the coronavirus, which in a span of just three months has reached virtually every country in the world.

'We Will Not Give Up': Marking 3 Months Since Coronavirus Became A Global Emergency

11:07am April 30, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

The World Health Organization declared the virus a global health emergency at the end of January. Since then, millions across the world have taken sick — but glimmers of hope have emerged, too.

Mark Green has stepped down as administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after nearly three years on the job.

Exiting USAID Chief On The Pandemic, Foreign Aid, Trump's Policies

12:59pm April 29, 2020

Mark Green talks to NPR about what it's like leaving during a global health crisis — and what the future may hold for the agency.

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(From L) World Health Organization leaders at a press briefing on COVID-19, held on March 6 at WHO headquarters in Geneva. From left: emergencies program director Michael Ryan, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and technical lead Maria Van Kerkh

What Is WHO And What Does It Do?

6:15pm April 28, 2020

by Pien Huang

The organization at the eye of the coronavirus pandemic is taking heat from U.S. critics. Here's a look at its history, its mission and its role in the current crisis.

Coronavirus antibody test kits are key to plans for proposed "immunity passports," but the World Health Organization is warning that such cards may simply encourage further transmission.

'No Evidence' Yet That Recovered COVID-19 Patients Are Immune, WHO Says

3:54pm April 25, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

The World Health Organization warned against "immunity passports," which allow travel only to recovered patients, saying studies must first confirm whether people are indeed safe from reinfection.