Robert Mugabe Is Appointed a WHO Goodwill Ambassador, Stunning Critics

October 23, 2017

(STAT News) – The new head of the World Health Organization has named Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe a goodwill ambassador for the agency, a move that has startled and dismayed public health experts. The WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced the controversial appointment on Wednesday in a speech at a global conference on noncommunicable diseases in Montevideo, Uruguay. Tedros, as he is known, described himself as “honored” that Mugabe — whose government has repressed protesters and the political opposition, has been accused of rigging elections, and has been implicated in widespread human rights violations — had agreed to serve as a goodwill ambassador on noncommunicable diseases for Africa.