Deaan Vivier/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images(GENEVA) — The World Health Organization (WHO) has revoked the appointment of Zimbabwe’s prime minister as a goodwill ambassador after a public outcry.
Robert Mugabe will no longer become WHO’s goodwill ambassador for noncommunicable diseases in Africa.
This comes after critics pointed out that Zimbabwe’s health care system has suffered in recent years. Even though Mugabe expanded health care in the country, the system has been negatively affected by the decadeslong collapse of the Zimbabwean economy.
Critics have also noted that Mugabe, who is 93, travels abroad for medical treatment.
“I have listened carefully to all who have expressed their concerns, and heard the different issues that they have raised,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “I have also consulted with the government of Zimbabwe, and we have concluded that this decision is in the best interests of the World Health Organization.”
Ghebreyesus previously praised Zimbabwe for the country’s commitment to public health.
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