London, Aug 6 (AP) The head of the World Health Organization hopes the United States leadership will reconsider its departure from the U.N. health agency.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the U.S. was well recognized both for its generosity and support of global health projects in the past.

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“You cannot defeat this virus in a divided world,” Tedros said of a country that contributes more than $450 million to the agency every year.

“When I was a minister in Ethiopia, when HIV/AIDS was ravaging the whole continent of Africa...it's the U.S. generosity and leadership that gave hope to individuals, gave hope to families and gave hope to nations,” Tedros said.

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President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused WHO of botching its response to the coronavirus and said it colluded with China in the pandemic's early stages to cover up the extent of the outbreak. WHO had denied that and recently start a probe into the global response to the pandemic. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)