World Heath Organisation director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has revealed he is receiving death threats and is being racially abused by people and governments officials around the world over the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Tedros as he is popularly known, is the first African to hold the WHO director general post.
Who is Dr Tedros
Tedros is former minister of health in the Ethiopian government. He took over leadership of WHO since 2017. Tedros was born in Eritrea in 1965 and is a member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front an opposition party in Ehiopia. He is a microbiologist and internationally recognized malaria researcher.
Who is abusing Dr Tedros
Tedros is facing a mounting pressure to resign from his post from the American politicians and government and also other governments such as that of Taiwan.
The allegations against Dr Tedros
Dr Tedros is accused of acting too late to inform the world about the coronavirus. He is also accused of siding with China and consenting to the under-reporting of coronavirus cases and deaths in China.
What is Dr Tedros response to the accussations?
The microbiologist has shrugged off the critisism and told his abusers and politicians that he is not moved by any of that.
I know that i’m just an individual, Tedros in a dot in the whole universe. tedros is a dot in the whole universe. I don’t mind personal insults. I’m focused on saving lives. But if we are attacjed as a group i won’t take to that.
I have received abuses, being called negro, black and i don’t care because I’m black. I have received death threats but i don’t give a damn. Lets not politisize the virus. When the whole black community is being attacked then that’s enough. We cannot tolerate that.
I have received attacks from Taiwan, and the ministry has done nothing about it.
Tedros accused Taiwan for being behind the racial abuse. The Taiwanese government hit back at WHO and demanded an apology.
Unites States president Donald Trump has also accused Dr Tedros of colluding with China and not ringing the alarm bells when China under-reported the figures and the potential of the virus to spread across the world.