Taxpayer-Funded World Health Organization Pushing Plain Packaging in Syria

The United States (US) government spends a great deal of taxpayer money on things that the public doesn’t want or need. There are also examples of taxpayer money being wasted on things that go beyond our borders, like funding the United Nations (UN).  The UN receives approximately $8 billion every year from US taxpayers with $3 billion of that used for peacekeeping efforts, which is the main function of the United Nations. The other $5 billion goes to fund other various activities including the World Health Organization (WHO), an organization lacking in transparency and common sense.

The latest mind-numbing misadventure that the WHO is pursuing is their current effort to get people to stop smoking in Syria.  As Syrian rebels try to overthrow a dictatorial regime that is committing war atrocities, the WHO is focusing their efforts in Syria to push plain packaging on tobacco.

The AP reported on WHO’s new focus last month:

Syria’s war is estimated to have killed several hundred thousand people amid the rise of the Islamic State group. But Dr. Ahmad Khlefawy, Syria’s deputy minister of health, said the war cannot be an excuse for Syrians to endanger their lives by consuming tobacco.

This isn’t the first time the WHO has misfired on understanding about what’s important.  Earlier this year, the organization was rightfully criticized when WHO’s Regional Committee for Europe held their “Framework Convention on Tobacco Control” meeting in Turkmenistan. Adding to the history of hostility towards to the press that the UN and WHO have been notorious for, having a meeting in Turkmenistan only reinforced the point. The country is ranked only third to last in terms of press freedom according to Reporters with Borders. It goes without saying that this type of irony shouldn’t be lost on WHO, but the ramifications for legitimizing such hostility towards the press should concern taxpayers and Congress. Now, WHO is engaging in more nonsense in Syria.

Besides the clear ludicrous nature of the WHO trying to impose anti-tobacco measures on a war-torn country, this is a shameful misuse of taxpayer money, This is not the first instance of the WHO engaging in activities that run counter to the needs and values of the United States. Other recent examples of an out-of control WHO include their lack of press freedom, and the U.N. Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The continued attack on press freedom by the WHO is an affront to the free press that is cherished in America. An article in The Daily Caller summed up the attacks on press freedom perfectly:

The organization has proven disturbingly hypocritical on the issue of press freedom, frequently engaging in extraordinary measures to silence the media and stifle the press’ ability to cover UN proceedings.

The GCF would take money from wealthy nations in order to subsidize other nations in order to fulfill commitments made in last year’s United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris. Taxpayers will be committing $500 million to the GCF.  The good news on this front is that the House Appropriations Committee moved forward with legislation that would block the funding. It remains to be seen how far the legislation will get in Congress.

Finally, the constant push for increased global taxation on things like tobacco runs counter to how the United States operates and what any American taxpayer would expect from the federal government.  It should not be the policy of the United States to go along with global taxation policies meant to punish industries based on selective criteria.

In 1984, the UN received about $1 billion annually from the US.  That number has now skyrocketed to $8 billion. The increase in taxpayer money has not translated into more transparency from the UN and their sub-groups; it has only increased the amount of wasteful activity agencies like WHO are using public money to carry out. This trajectory needs to be changed, and it needs to happen soon and Congress has the power of the purse at their disposal so it is time they use it.

Congress should take a serious look specifically at how the UN is spending the money that the United States provides to the agency and the their sub-groups.  And, taxpayers from around the world should also scrutinize the UN’s funding. There is no reason that American taxpayers should be funding the activities of the WHO that silences the press, lobby for increased global taxes globally, and pushes for plain packaging in a country mired in war.