The director-general of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, accused heads of state on Wednesday of racism for failing to address the ongoing “manmade” humanitarian disaster in his native Ethiopia, saying the Russian invasion of Ukraine is getting more attention due to the skin color of Ethiopians.
Ethiopia descended into civil war in November 2020 between the ruling government – led by ethnic Oromo Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel Peace Prize winner – and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a Marxist former ruling party that Abiy designated a terrorist organization last year. Tedros, an ethnic Tigray, served in multiple roles in TPLF governments before being elected to run the W.H.O., including health minister and foreign minister. For More