ZIMBABWE
Serving Spin
The World Health Organization revoked Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s appointment as “goodwill ambassador” for fighting diseases such as cancer and diabetes in Africa following a global outcry.
WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus, known as Tedros, said in a statement Sunday morning that he had “listened carefully to all who have expressed their concerns” before making his decision, the Washington Post reported.
Tedros had announced Mugabe’s appointment earlier this week at a Uruguay conference on noncommunicable diseases, prompting an immediate global response from activists and politicians critical of his long record of human rights abuses, including violent crackdowns on political dissent.
Tedros had lauded Zimbabwe for placing “universal health coverage and health promotion at the center of its policies” and said Mugabe could influence other leaders around the region. The Noncommunicable Diseases Alliance, which represented many other people at the conference, immediately condemned the move.
Serving spin on the controversy, Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs Minister Walter Mzembi told state media the WHO gaffe brought unprecedented world attention to noncommunicable diseases.
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