The World Health Organization (WHO) will be reconsidering a decision to name Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe “a goodwill ambassador” after facing criticism.

The director-general of the United Nations’ health agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Twitter on Saturday that he understood the “concerns” and that he was “rethinking.”

“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 said.

Tedros had this week asked Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old president to serve in the role to help tackle non-communicable diseases like heart attacks, strokes, and asthma across Africa.

In announcing the appointment in Uruguay’s capital this week, Tedros had praised Zimbabwe as “a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the center of its policies to provide health care to all.”

The decision, however, sparked outrage among key WHO member states — the United States in particular — and other critics of Mugabe’s rule.

“This appointment clearly contradicts the United Nations ideals of respect for human rights and human dignity,” the US State Department said.

Britain, for its part, had said naming Mugabe had been “surprising and disappointing, particularly in light of the current US and EU sanctions against him.”

“We have registered our concerns with WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,” a Foreign Office statement read.

Canada, too, objected, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying, “It is absolutely unacceptable and inconceivable this individual would have a role as a goodwill ambassador for any organization, much less the World Health Organization.”

The Canadian Foreign Ministry later called for the appointment to be “rescinded without delay.” Human rights activist and lawyer Doug Coltart also mocked the decision by saying on Twitter that a “man who flies to Singapore for treatment because he has destroyed Zimbabwe’s health sector is WHO’s goodwill ambassador,” referring to Mugabe.

Other critics have argued that Zimbabwe’s health care system had collapsed under Mugabe’s rule. UN agencies often name high-profile personalities as goodwill ambassadors to draw attention and highlight their tasks in the eyes of the global community and to garner support for the cause.

Tedros, who is a former Ethiopian health minister, took charge of WHO in July this year. He is the first African to lead the UN agency.

Source: Presstv

The leader of the outlawed Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium  has been visiting injured Southern Cameroons activists in the various medical facilities in the territory. Camereoon Concord News understands Barrister Agbor Balla was at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Mission Hospital, Njinikom in the Bamenda State and was reportedly motivated by the dedication of the doctors, nurses and Reverend Sisters handling the difficult situation.

Our Chief Correspondent in Bamenda hinted that Balla and his entourage were visibly touched by the case of Muhmara Njong, a 24 year old young man from Ndop, who was never part of the October 1 celebrations but got caught, brutalized and shot in the leg by troops loyal to the Yaounde regime. He was attending a family funeral before the army stormed the venue. Muhmara Njong told the leader of the Consortium that the soldiers got into their vehicle and drove on his bleeding leg.

The nurses revealed to the Agbor Balla delegation that, his surgery lasted several hours with the doctors removing veins from his left leg just to save the right leg. Barrister Agbor Balla told the wounded and medical staff that Anglophones must continue to unite and show strength and solidarity even in the face of pain and weakness, because together we are stronger and all our wounded brothers and sisters will return stronger.

By Sama Ernest, CCN

The Chadian government says more than 50 people have died of cholera in the country since authorities declared an outbreak of the disease.

“We count 312 cases, including 52 deaths,” said Health Ministry secretary general Hamid Djabar on Thursday.

Authorities declared a cholera outbreak on Monday, which put in place a “crisis committee” to monitor the situation and to strengthen cooperation with partners such as medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the UN children’s agency UNICEF.

“For the time being, the outbreak is confined to the region of Sila” near the borders with Sudan and the Central African Republic, said Djabar.

In the neighboring region of Salamat, 19 cases and two deaths were recorded, but the Health Ministry said the situation was “under control.”

Health authorities discovered the presence of the cholera virus in the east of the country in mid-August following two deaths from acute diarrhea and vomiting.

The cholera virus, which can kill within a few hours if left untreated, regularly affects the east and the Lake Chad basin, the least developed areas of the country where half the population lives below the poverty threshold.

“In 2011, Chad, along with other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, was affected by a large-scale cholera outbreak. More than 450 deaths and a total of 17,200 cases of the disease were reported,” MSF said on its website.

A similar outbreak was also discovered in neighboring Nigeria, where the UN said Monday that at least 44 people had died of the disease in the northeast of the country.

The first cholera case in Nigeria was identified in Borno state also in mid-August and has since spread, mainly in camps for those displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.

“According to estimates, there are 1.3 to 4 million cases of cholera every year, and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths due to the disease worldwide,” the World Health Organization said in July.

(Source: AFP)