Brazil will follow the US out of WHO, warns Brazilian President Bolsonaro

Brasilia: – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is biased and political and warned that Brazil would walk out of the WHO. He refused to put the number of Coronavirus cases and deaths in the public domain. The dashboard showing the minute by minute numbers of Coronavirus cases and deaths was removed from the website of the Brazilian health ministry on Sunday.

Only last week, US President Donald Trump announced the end of ties between the United States and WHO. The US President accused that the WHO was acting like a PRO for China. Brazilian President Bolsonaro also accused the WHO of being biased. President Bolsonaro said ‘The United States has left the WHO and we are thinking on the same lines. Either the WHO gives up its biases or we leave the WHO.’

The number of Coronavirus cases is increasing very rapidly in Brazil. Till date, 36,000 patients have died of Coronavirus in Brazil, whereas, more than 700,000 cases have been reported from the country. Brazil is second, only to the United States, in the number of cases. On Friday, the WHO cautioned Brazil and other Latin American countries regarding this. WHO warned that if the restrictions imposed to contain the Coronavirus pandemic are withdrawn, the outbreak will spread more rapidly. WHO issued this warning at a time when the Brazilian President was contemplating to relax the restrictions. This agitated the Brazilian President.

Moreover, the Brazilian President is said to be upset with the WHO due to the ban on the use of Hydroxychloroquine in Coronavirus treatment. WHO had banned trials of this drug, effective against Malaria on Coronavirus patients. A research paper claimed that there was a threat to the life of the patients due to Hydroxychloroquine.

But the report which was cited by WHO to impose this ban on Hydroxychloroquine trials is being questioned now. The researchers have withdrawn their research paper. Brazilian President Bolsonaro has taken this opportunity to target WHO. India had supplied Hydroxychloroquine to Brazil. The Brazilian President had expressed his gratitude towards India, saying that this drug will prove to be a new lease of life for the people of Brazil.