What Is WHO And What Does It Do?

(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 Kerkhove.

Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images

The World Health Organization describes its job as “the global guardian of health.”

It is now possibly facing the most devastating global health threat in its 72-year history: the novel coronavirus pandemic. WHO is devoting hundreds of millions of dollars and an all-hands-on-deck approach to the effort to vanquish the virus.

And it is being accused of failing to uphold its mission. On April 14, President Trump put a temporary halt on U.S. funding for the agency, pending an investigation to see if WHO is “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.”