WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement on Tuesday, saying that the United States is halting funding to the World Health Organisation. Justifying his decision, US president accused the UN agency of failing in its basic duty in deal with the coranavirus pandemic. Trump said he has ordered a review that cover the WHO"s "role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of coronavirus." "I am directing my administration to halt funding while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization"s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus," US president said. The US is the biggest overall donor to the Geneva-based organization, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15 percent of its budget. The move prompted a global outcry with UN UN Secretary General António Guterres saying it’s "not the time" to cut funds to the WHO. “Now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences,” UN chief said in a statement. Reacting strongly to Trump’s decision, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the WHO was essential to tackling the pandemic. “At a time like this when we need to be sharing information and we need to have advice we can rely on, the WHO has provided that,” she said. “We will continue to support it and continue to make our contributions.” Meanwhile, China urged the US on Wednesday to fulfill its obligations to WHO. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the pandemic was at a critical stage and that Washington’s decision would affect the whole world. The US has by far the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths worldwide- with more than 600,000 cases and 26,000 deaths. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said earlier Tuesday that while the WHO and China "made mistakes," Trump is also looking to deflect blame from his own administration. "Right now, there is a very coordinated effort amongst the White House and their allies to try to find scapegoats for the fatal mistakes that the President made during the early stages of this virus," Murphy said. — Agencies