WASHINGTON -- When the SARS epidemic was circling the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) purported to be leading efforts to treat the disease. But the WHO was reluctant to send staffers to hard-hit Taiwan due to its extensive ties with China.
For the WHO, politics was more important than health. Taipei is not a member of the WHO because most nations, including the United States, formally consider it to be part of China. And China objected to any WHO teams traveling to Taiwan. With no thanks to the WHO or Beijing, Taiwan avoided a disastrous outbreak.
Unfortunately, like most U.N. agencies, the WHO's activities have long been captive to a highly political agenda. For instance, earlier this year the organization claimed that a third of childhood deaths in Europe resulted from environmental causes.
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