Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO: “We would welcome a dialogue with the (Trump) administration.”

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“I studied hard. Hated the lab, loved the field.” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Acting Director, WHO Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Threat Management, reveals her early, personal passions as a student of epidemiology. After a stint as a young PhD investigator in Cambodia, she was “desperate to work at WHO. I wanted a seat at the table.” As the technical lead at WHO during the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020, she spoke at hundreds of press conferences, duly tracked by her mother. The value proposition for WHO? To help governments prepare for emerging biothreats, detect and rapidly share information on outbreaks, and convene the world’s experts to produce guidance. “In my wildest dreams, I did not expect the politicization of Covid throughout the past five years.” WHO’s recent dramatic restructuring will better focus WHO on its core functions, as its two-year budget drops from $6.8 billion to $4.2 billion. As the United States withdrew in January from WHO, it stopped its funding and ceased technical and scientific exchanges. “Since January, U.S. government officials have been instructed not to talk to us.” That is unprecedented and dangerous: “If American expertise is not at the table, there is a gap.” It puts Americans at-risk. Her conclusion: “Restore that link immediately.”