WHO Director General ''rethinks" appointment of Robert Mugabe as "goodwill ambassador"

Director General of the World Health Organization , Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he is “rethinking” the appointment of Zimbabwean President ,Robert Mugabe as a “goodwill ambassador” to help tackle non-communicable diseases.

In a twitter post on Saturday,the first African Director General of the WHO said , he will issue a statement as soon as possible following global concerns of the appointment of the 93 -year old Mugabe.

“I’m listening. I hear your concerns. Rethinking the approach in light of WHO values. I will issue a statement as soon as possible’‘,he tweeted.

I’m listening. I hear your concerns. Rethinking the approach in light of WHO values. I will issue a statement as soon as possible

— Tedros Adhanom (@DrTedros) October 21, 2017

His tweet at the time of filing this report has received over one thousand likes and almost one thousand retweets.

The global health organization came under intense criticisms last week over the appointment of Robert Mugabe as “goodwill ambassador” for non-communicable diseases.

Speaking at a conference in Uruguay, the WHO Director General said Mugabe could use the role to “influence his peers in his region”.

Tedros described Zimbabwe as a “country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the center of its policies to provide health care for all’‘.

Several organizations including the World Heart Federation, Action Against Smoking and Cancer Research-UK issued statements immediately opposing his proposal ,saying health officials were dismayed about the news,citing Mugabe’s long track record of human rights violations”.

The United States and the United Kingdom also rejected proposals of Mugabe’s appointment.