The Director General of the WHO, the Ethiopian Tedros Ghebreyesus, underlined, on Wednesday, the changing attitude of the international community towards the support to be provided to the populations of the world; an attitude that depends on the color of the skin.
Referring to the attention paid to Ukraine which is being invaded by Russia, Tedros said the world “does not pay the same level of attention to black lives and white lives. “.
“All the attention given to Ukraine is very important of course because it has an impact on the whole world, but not even a fraction (of this attention) is given to Tigray, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria and all the rest”, he was indignant during a press conference.
Tigray, a region in northern Ethiopia where the WHO director is from, has been under blockade since regional forces went to war with the Ethiopian National Army, ordered in November 2021 by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who had accused Tigray of standing up to Addis Ababa.
“I have to be direct and honest, not everyone treats the human race the same. Some are more equal than others (…) And when I say that, it pains me,” he insisted.
Reacting to these remarks, this Thursday, the Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Sammy Mahdi, indicated that “the war in Ukraine receives as much attention in the European Union as Yemen receives, for example, in the Middle East. It’s all about proximity, it has nothing to do with skin color.”
Presumably, the appreciation of the boss of the WHO was not well received. Sammy Mahdi remarked that “making such divisive statements in the current context is not acceptable”, and asked Tedros to “stick to public health issues”, in the future.
By OMA Newsletter N° 669 of 15/04/2022
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
