评论 | 目光短浅！掩盖失败！多家西方主流媒体痛斥特朗普撤资世界卫生组织

Donald Trump's declared suspension of funding of the World Health Organization, accusing the global health body of "severely mismanaging" the coronavirus pandemic and said hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. funding would be suspended while a review was conducted into the WHO's work. A decision like this in the midst of a pandemic is confirmation – if any were needed – that he is in search of scapegoats for his administration’s much delayed and chaotic response to the crisis.

唐纳德·特朗普指责世卫组织对新冠疫情处理“严重失当”并宣布将暂停美国对该组织数亿美元的资金支持，同时对其工作展开调查。在新冠全球大流行之际做出该决定无疑是他为美国政府拖沓混乱的抗疫行动寻找替罪羊的又一力证。

People involved in the pandemic response around the world reacted with horror to the news. "This is a short-sighted decision which will be disastrous for the agency," says Devi Sridhar, a global health expert at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. "We need the WHO more than ever to support all countries, especially low and middle income ones."

世界各地参与抗疫的人士对这一消息表示震惊。英国爱丁堡大学全球卫生专家戴薇·斯利达（Devi Sridhar）说，“这是个目光短浅的决定，会对该组织造成灾难性的打击。我们现在比任何时候都需要世界卫生组织对各国的支持，特别是中低收入国家。”

The move is counterproductive and "leaves the U.S. and the world less safe," says Jeremy Konyndyk, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development who headed the U.S. Agency for International Development's disaster response efforts under former President Barack Obama. "It is a transparent attempt to shift blame for the U.S. administration's own failings."

曾在奥巴马执政期间主持美国国际开发署灾难响应工作的美国智库全球发展中心高级政策研究员杰瑞米·孔尼迪克(Jeremy Konyndyk)表示，此举会造成消极后果并“为美国乃至全世界带来不安全因素。这显然是美国政府在为自己的过失推卸责任。”

In response to Trump's threat last week that he might cut WHO funding, the agency's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, strongly urged world leaders not to politicize the pandemic. "We will have many body bags in front of us if we don't behave," said Tedros.

上周，特朗普威胁削减对世卫组织的经费支持。作为回应，该组织总干事谭德塞强烈呼吁各国领导人不要将疫情政治化。他说，“如果不保持克制，我们就会看到更多运尸袋。”

Trump's action could significantly hamper the world’s fight against COVID-19, says Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. “If WHO is ensnared in a political and funding crisis, it simply won't be able to provide the leadership that is so urgently needed in this unique time in human history.”

乔治城大学奥尼尔全球卫生法研究中心院长劳伦斯·高斯汀(Lawrence Gostin)认为美国的做法将会严重阻碍全球抗疫行动。他说，“一旦陷入政治和资金危机，世卫组织就无法发挥目前这段人类历史特殊时期所急需的领导作用。”

比尔·盖茨推特截图

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has criticised president Trump's decision to suspend funding for the World Health Organization. "Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds," the prominent healthcare philanthropist and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said in a message posted to Twitter.

微软创始人比尔·盖茨也批评了特朗普的这一做法。这位杰出的医疗卫生慈善家、盖茨基金会联席主席发推指出“在国际卫生危机之际中止对世卫组织的资金支持是相当危险的。”

Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement that the move "makes as much sense as cutting off ammunition to an ally as the enemy closes in."

参议院拨款委员会高级民主党委员帕特里克·莱希（Patrick Leahy）在一份声明中指出，此举“就好比在敌人迫近之时停止为盟友提供的弹药。”

"The White House knows that it grossly mishandled this crisis from the beginning, ignoring multiple warnings and squandering valuable time, dismissing medical science, comparing COVID-19 to the common cold, and saying 'everything will be fine,'" Leahy, who also serves on the subcommittee overseeing foreign operations, added. "Not wanting to take responsibility as the deaths continue to mount, he blames others."

他说，“白宫很清楚自己从一开始就在危机处理上严重失职，不顾多次预警，浪费宝贵时间，藐视医学研究，将新冠病毒比作普通流感，并称‘一切都会好的’。随着死亡人数持续上升，（特朗普）不想承担责任，于是归罪于他人。”

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), an outspoken critic of the president, said in a tweet that the announcement felt like a "distraction." "He wants this to be about other countries so he doesn’t have to explain why South Korea and the U.S. got hit with their first cases at the same time, but South Korea prevented mass deaths," Schatz added.

特朗普的公开批评者，参议员布莱恩·莎兹在推文中写道，特朗普宣布这一消息像是在“转移注意力”。他补充说，“特朗普希望把注意力转移到别的国家，这样自己就不用解释为何美国和韩国在同一天出现首例感染者，但韩国却避免了大量死亡。”

Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Reps. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and Jesús García (D-Ill.) echoed those remarks, with Bass calling the move an "abdication of international responsibility and leadership."

其他一些众参两院的议员也表达了类似观点，认为特朗普的做法无异于“放弃了美国的国际责任和领导力。”

美国众议院情报委员会主席亚当·希夫推特截图

"International cooperation on public health has never been more critical," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) tweeted. "Freezing funding for the WHO will only make it worse."

美国众议院情报委员会主席亚当·希夫(Adam Schiff)发推表示，“针对公共卫生的全球合作从未像现在这样重要。冻结对世卫组织的资金支持会造成疫情恶化。”

"Whatever form it takes, this is a deeply shortsighted and dangerous decision - at any time, let alone during a ... pandemic," said Alexandra Phelan, assistant professor at the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University.

乔治城大学卫生科学与安全中心助理教授亚历山德拉·菲兰(Alexandra Phelan)指出，“无论用什么方法执行，这都是一个及其目光短浅和危险的决定，任何时候都是如此，就更不用说是在……全球大流行病期间。”

"It's a bizarre decision that would be profoundly detrimental to global public health,” said Gavin Yamey, the director of Duke University's center for policy impact in global health. "He's trying to distract from his own errors that have led to the worst government response to COVID-19 on Earth."

杜克大学全球卫生政策影响中心主任加文·亚米(Gavin Yamey)说，“这是个奇怪的决定，会严重影响全球公共卫生。特朗普的失误让美国成为全世界对新冠疫情应对最差的国家，他现在企图把人们的注意力从这上面引开。”

Public health officials generally agree that the WHO's response to the pandemic has not been perfect, but much improved on the organisation's lambasted performance in the face of the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and immeasurably better than how the U.S. has handled COVID-19.

公共卫生官员的基本共识是，世卫组织对新冠疫情的应对虽不是无可挑剔，但与2014年埃博拉爆发时的其备受诟病的表现相比有了长足的进步，而且要远远好于美国的抗疫表现。

《科学》期刊官网截图

The announcement came on the day that WHO's first "solidarity flight" left Ethiopia carrying medical supplies to African countries to assist them in fighting COVID-19. "WHO is in the middle of supporting global surveillance efforts and scale-up of testing and response in low- and middle-income countries around the world," says Matthew Kavanaugh, a global health researcher at Georgetown University. "Hobbling that response is not just unjust, it's incredibly bad for U.S. public health at a moment when we have all learned painfully how easily this virus moves from abroad to U.S. shores."

在特朗普宣布停止拨款之时，世卫组织的首架“团结号”飞机离开埃塞俄比亚，向其他非洲国家运送医疗物资，支援抗疫行动。乔治城大学的全球卫生研究人员马修·卡瓦诺（Matthew Kavanaugh）说，“世卫组织正在支援国际疫情监测行动并推动中低收入国家检测和应对能力的提升。妨碍该组织在这方面的努力不仅是不正当的，而且对美国的公共卫生极为不利，特别是目前我们都已经了解这个病毒从国外向美国本土传播的速度之快。”

In his press conference, he complained about what he called WHO's "disastrous decision" to oppose travel bans, which he said "put political correctness above life saving measures." He claimed his ban on allowing foreign nationals from China to enter the United States, which became effective on February 2, has saved "thousands and thousands of lives."

在新闻发布会上，特朗普谴责了世卫组织反对旅行禁令的“灾难性决定”，称其“将政治正确置于挽救生命之上。”他声称自己从2月2号起禁止外国公民从中国入境美国的决定“挽救了数千条生命”。

Trump's long list of complaints also included assertions that WHO failed to promptly declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), which "cost valuable time," and a failure to investigate "credible information to suspect human-to-human transmission in December 2019."

特朗普一长串的指责抱怨里还包括称世界卫生组织没有及时宣布疫情为国际公共卫生紧急事件，从而 “浪费了宝贵的时间”，以及世卫组织未能对“2019年12月份怀疑人际传播的可靠情报”进行调查。

China notified WHO on December 31 that it had a cluster of unexplained pneumonia, and the agency, after a brief investigation, reported this on social media January 4. Phelan notes that outbreaks often are confusing when they surface.  "It's the nature of emerging infectious diseases that our understanding of a novel disease and the available information changes," she says.

中国在12月31日便就出现一系列不明原因的肺炎病例向世卫组织通报。该组织在简短调查后于1月4日在社交媒体上公布了该信息。菲兰表示，疫情爆发初期人们往往会搞不清楚状况。她说，“新型传染病的出现本质上就是我们对一种全新疾病的了解以及掌握的知识不断发生变化的过程。”

In late February, China also welcomed a team of international scientists, organized by the WHO, to tour the country and learn about the spread of the virus there and the response, which led to a detailed, widely discussed report.

2月底，中国邀请了由世卫组织牵头组建的国际专家团队到中国各地考察新冠病毒的传播情况以及中国所采取的抗疫措施。此后，世卫组织提交了一份详细且全面的报告。

世卫组织赴中国考察组外方组长、世卫组织总干事高级顾问艾尔沃德 （新华社）

Phelan agrees that a PHEIC should have been declared at the first meeting of WHO's emergency committee on January 23. The WHO declared the outbreak a PHEIC a week later on January 30. At that point less than 100 cases had been reported outside of China and no deaths. But, Phelan notes, "Countries don't have to wait for a PHEIC declaration to start preparing."

菲兰表示，世卫组织本该在1月23日召开第一次紧急会议时就宣布疫情为国际公共卫生紧急事件。但实际上是在一周后，也就是1月30日才宣布。当时，中国境外确诊人数不超过100例，也没有任何死亡病例。但是，菲兰指出，“各国不必非要等到世卫组织宣布国际公共卫生紧急事件才做出行动。”

The WHO first raised the alert over the Wuhan outbreak on January 5, and beginning on January 7 it was briefing public health officials from the U.S. and other national governments on the outbreak in regular teleconference calls. On January 9 the WHO distributed guidance to member states for their own risk assessment and planning. 

世卫组织在1月5日首次对武汉疫情爆发做出警告，并从1月7日起定期通过电话会议向各国负责公共卫生的官员通报疫情，其中包括美国。1月9日，世卫组织向各成员国分发指南，指导各国评估风险和做出规划。

Trump and his supporters have focused on a January 14 WHO tweet reporting the findings of preliminary Chinese studies suggesting "no clear evidence" of human-to-human transmission, but WHO also briefed the press on January 14, that human-to-human transmission was still a strong possibility given the experience of past coronavirus epidemics and urged suitable precautions.

特朗普和其支持者把关注点放在世卫组织1月14日的一条推文上，该推文报告介绍了中国初期研究发现，指出“没有明确证据”证明存在人际传播。但当日记者会上，世卫组织也表示，根据以往冠状病毒传播的经验，人际传播仍存在极大可能，并敦促大家采取适当防护措施。

Yamey said it was ridiculous to point to a single tweet early in the pandemic as the fixed position of the WHO. "The whole point of science is that we have initial hypotheses and initial ideas, and we update those ideas as more and more data emerges," he said.

亚米表示，把一条疫情早期所发的推文看做是代表世卫组织观点实为荒唐可笑。他说，“科学的关键就在于我们起初有假设和初步的构想。随着越来越多的数据出现，我们不断更新之前的想法。”

On January 23 the WHO updated its account of the coronavirus threat, confirming human-to-human transmission and warning that the global risk was high. One week later it formally declared a global emergency.

1月23 日，世卫组织更新其对新冠病毒危险性的描述，确认存在人传人现象并发出全球高风险警告。一周后，世卫组织正式宣布其为全球紧急事件。

The claim that the delay in the WHO acquiring samples crippled the international response is also false. Chinese scientists publicly released the genetic sequence of COVID-19 on January 11.

称世卫组织未能及时获取病毒样本进而造成各国未能作出及时应对的说法也站不住脚。中国科学家在1月11日就公布了新冠病毒的基因序列。

By early February the WHO was in a position to distribute a COVID-19 test worldwide, but the U.S. government opted not to have it fast-tracked through approval. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) instead produced its own test at about the same time, but it was flawed and had to be recalled. US testing would be set back more than six weeks compared to the rest of the world.

二月初，世卫组织已经开始向全球发放新冠病毒检测盒。但美国政府却没有快速批准使用该检测盒。与此同时，美国疾控中心生产了自己的检测盒，但却因为存在缺陷不得不召回。因此，美国的病毒检测与其他国家相比整整滞后了6周。

美国疾病控制与预防中心关于新冠病毒检测盒问题的报告

While virtually no testing was under way in the U.S. throughout February, Trump assumed the consequently low number of confirmed U.S. cases meant that his country had somehow escaped. "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA," he boasted on February 24, nearly a month after the WHO declaration of emergency. "We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health [Organisation] have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!"

整个二月期间，美国实际上没有进行任何检测。特朗普想当然地认为，美国确诊病例数量低是因为本国未受影响。2月24日，也就是世卫组织宣布紧急事件后近一个月，他夸口说，“美国完全控制了新冠疫情。我们和每个人以及所有相关国家都保持着联系。疾控中心和世卫组织都在努力工作，表现出色。在我看来，股市也开始往好的方向发展。”

Trump's turn against the WHO only gathered pace over the past week, as more and more reports emerged of the administration's own complacent and dysfunctional response.

随着越来越多的报道披露美国政府在抗疫方面自我陶醉、缺乏实效，特朗普在过去几周开始加紧对世卫组织的攻击。

The impact of a block on U.S. funds is likely to be mitigated by other countries, who have almost unanimously expressed confidence in the WHO, stepping up their own financial backing. The UK, for example, has announced 200m pounds in new funding for international efforts to contain and combat the pandemic, of which 65m pounds is earmarked for the WHO.

其他国家一致对世卫组织表示支持，并加大自己的资金援助。这有望减少美国停止资助世卫组织所带来的影响。例如，英国宣布额外提供2亿英镑帮助世界各国遏制和抗击新冠疫情，其中6500万英镑专门捐助给世卫组织。

How well Trump's scapegoating of the WHO will play in the U.S. election is impossible to predict, but on the world stage it will undoubtedly be seen as yet another step in an accelerating U.S. abdication of global leadership.

我们无法预测特朗普对世卫组织的构陷会对美国大选产生怎样的影响。但在世界舞台上，此举无疑是美国进一步放弃其全球领导地位的表现。

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