London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

WHO Chief Rejects Mike Pompeo Charges As "Untrue" And "Unacceptable"

WHO Chief Rejects Mike Pompeo Charges As "Untrue" And "Unacceptable"

"The comments are untrue and unacceptable and without any foundation," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference.

The World Health Organization chief on Thursday rejected as false an allegation by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he owed his position to a deal with China.

Pompeo told a private meeting of MPs on Tuesday that the WHO had become a "political" body, alleging that its decisions were influenced by a deal struck between chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and China that helped him become its head, according to quotes in the Times and Daily Telegraph.

"When push came to shove, when it really mattered most", people died "because of the deal that was made", he said.

Asked about Pompeo's allegations during a virtual press conference, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said they were "untrue and unacceptable and without any foundation for that matter."

He insisted that the "sole focus... of the entire organisation is on saving lives. WHO will not be distracted by these comments and we don't want the entire international community also to be distracted."

He reiterated his warning that one of the "greatest threats in the current crisis is the "politicisation of the pandemic".


Quarantine 'COVID politics'

Tedros appealed to all countries to work together in the fight against the virus, which has claimed more than 627,000 lives worldwide since it first emerged in China late last year.

"COVID-19 does not respect borders, ideologies or political parties," he said, warning that "politics and partisanship have made things worse."


"COVID politics should be quarantined."

Tedros has for months faced relentless attacks from US President Donald Trump, who has accused WHO of botching the global coronavirus response and of being a "puppet of China".

Earlier this month he made good on his threat to begin withdrawing the US -- traditionally WHO's largest donor -- from the organisation, even as it works to coordinate the global response to the coronavirus crisis.

WHO COVID-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove, who is an American citizen, also pushed back Thursday against the charges lobbed against the UN agency.


"I have never be more proud to be WHO," she said.

"I see first hand every day the work that Dr. Tedros does... that our teams do, all over the world," she said, insisting the entire organisation was "firmly focused on saving lives."

At Thursday's press conference, Tedros also stressed the importance of individual responsibility in the global bid to halt the spread of the virus, pointing to a range of fresh outbreaks associated with nightclubs and social gatherings.

"We're asking everyone to treat the decisions about where they go, what they do and who they meet with as life-and-death decisions," he said.

"It may not be your life, but your choices could be the difference between life and death for someone you love, or for a complete stranger," he stressed.

"Don't expect someone else to keep you safe. We all have a part to play in protecting ourselves and one another."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×