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WHO Director-General Tedros was accused in 2017 of hiding the cholera outbreak three times in his home country when he was Ethiopia’s Minister of Health.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) on July 1, 2017 for a period of five years, making him the world’s most powerful health officer.
However, in May 2017, before taking office, many questions were raised about his suitability as a global health specialist. In an interview with NYTimes At the time, Professor Larry Gostin, a global health expert, alleged that Dr. Tedros did not recognize the three cholera outbreaks in Ethiopia, when he was Minister of Health.
Professor Gostin said that Tedros concealed the cholera epidemic in Ethiopia in three different outbreaks, in 2006, 2009 and 2011. respectively. Tedros was Ethiopia’s Minister of Health from 2005 to 2012, before being appointed. served as chancellor for a period of 4 years, until 2016.
“Dr. Tedros is a competent and compassionate public health official. But he is also obligated to tell the truth and honestly acknowledge and report verified cholera outbreaks. For a long time,” said Gostin, who now serves as director of the Center. WHO Community Health and Human Rights said in an interview with NYTimes three years ago.
Professor Gostin expressed concern that the WHO “might lose its legitimacy” when led by a representative from a country that once covered the disease.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus held a press conference in Switzerland on March 11. Photos: AFP.
Tedros won the race to become WHO Director-General in 2017, but months after taking office, he was criticized for failing to register cholera outbreaks in Sudan, neighboring Ethiopia.
In September 2017, a group of American doctors specializing in infectious diseases wrote an open letter to Tedros, accusing him and the WHO of refusing to confirm a cholera outbreak in Sudan, saying the WHO’s move was to protect. The organization’s reputation in the international arena.
“His silence on the apparent cholera in Sudan has become increasingly guilty. His failure to transfer patient samples in Sudan to Geneva, Switzerland, to officially confirm the epidemic makes him fully complicit.” by allowing the suffering and horrible deaths to continue spreading, out of control, while new daily reports confirm that this is truly anger, “wrote the letter from American doctors.” The story of this plague will certainly bear its name. “
Both outbreaks in Ethiopia and Sudan are called “acute diarrhea” by WHO instead of cholera. By hiding cholera as Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, many believed that Tedros remained Secretary of State until 2016. As for the Sudan outbreak, WHO emphasized that the name of the disease does not change the form of Translation and Response.
Tedros, 55, has a doctorate from the University of Nottingham and a master’s degree from the University of London. in 2017, he denied the allegations NYTimes. He said he was the victim of a last-minute smear campaign to prevent him from sitting in the seat of “the world’s top health officials.” Tedros explained that the disease occurred in remote areas in Ethiopia, making testing difficult.
Professor Gostin last week declined to comment Telegraph, saying that the NYTimes interviews have been going on for a long time. In the British Medical Journal, Gostin said his comments were “incorrect” by NYTimes.
“Dr. Tedros at the time was the Minister of Health, perhaps he also did his best to accurately report to WHO, but the Ethiopian government prevented it,” said Gostin. Gostin also praised Tedros and his excellent responsibility as Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, including reforms to the health system.
The WHO Director-General recently faced criticism from many countries, including the United States, about the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. United States President Donald Trump last week accused Tedros of “biasing China” in his efforts to fight nCoV and threatened to cut aid to WHO.
A few days after Trump spoke, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley wrote to the WHO, criticizing the agency for slowing down global warnings about Covid-19. However, Tedros denied the allegations and urged the parties not to “politicize” nCoV.
Mai Lam (The O Telegraph)
