Concern over MILLIONS being handed out to World Health Organisation
UK MINISTERS are coming under pressure to not pay millions extra being demanded by the World Health Organisation (WHO) amid questions over secrecy and alleged corruption.
UK ministers are being pressured to not pay extra money to the World Health Organisation
A TaxPayers Alliance (TPA) report has revealed that the UK is one of 142 countries - 80 per cent of the membership of the WHO - who have refused to pay all the money due to the organisation.
The failure to pay the whole amount comes as the WHO is electing a new President and is demanding an extra 10 per cent levy on all members including Britain.
But it comes amid concerns over the way British money is being spent on international bodies and in foreign aid when the NHS is facing a financial crisis.
It is essential that during the election campaign for the next Director-General of WHO (which has just started) that the candidates face up to the very serious questions about transparency, funding, accountability and malpractice, which the WHO must answe
The TPA report also highlights continued concerns over the way the WHO has banned journalists from covering conferences on tobacco control and other events.
British money is being spent on international bodies while the NHS is in crisis
It has also spent money meant to tackle disease on lavish conferences in places like New Delhi while praising dictatorships in Turkm, destroying intellectual property rights and weakening national sovereignty, and proving to be unsuitable for the task of reducing tobacco consumption in a thoughtful, responsible manner.”
There are concerns about how the WHO banned reporters from covering conferences on tobacco control
David Williams, President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said: “It is shocking how many of these countries still refuse to pay their subscriptions. We suspect that this is indicative of wider concern about the way the WHO operates.
The UK is among those countries who have refused to pay all the money due to WHO
“It is essential that during the election campaign for the next Director-General of WHO (which has just started) that the candidates face up to the very serious questions about transparency, funding, accountability and malpractice, which the WHO must answer.
“The world’s taxpayers deserve clear answers, not obfuscation.”