World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday decried the amount of global attention being paid to the war in Ukraine, adding it left him feeling in “pain.”
Speaking from the security of W.H.O. global headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the BBC reports he demanded the world pay “equal attention to black and white lives” by similarly engaging in conflicts consuming his homeland Ethiopia, as well as Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria.
To do anything else is racist, Tedros said.
“I don’t know if the world really gives equal attention to black and white lives,” he said. “I said it last week: the whole attention to Ukraine is very important, of course, because it impacts the whole world but [not] even a fraction of it is being given to Tigray, Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria and others.”
Last month Tedros speculated ”nowhere on earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat” than Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
He also critiqued the press for what he said is its failure to document the ongoing atrocities in Ethiopia, noting people had been burned alive in the region as part of summary executions.
“I don’t even know if that was taken seriously by the media,” he said.
“And I need to be blunt and honest that the world is not treating the human race the same way,” he added on Wednesday. “Some are more equal than others. And when I say this, it pains me. Because I see it.”
Tedros went on to highlight the situation in Ukraine in the 50 days since Russia’s invasion on 24 February.
“In that time, 4.6 million refugees have left the country,” he said. “Thousands of civilians have died, including children. There have been 119 verified attacks on health care. Health services continue to be severely disrupted, particularly in the east of the country.”
“For the sake of humanity, I urge Russia to come back to the table and to work for peace. In the meantime, humanitarian corridors must be established so that medical supplies, food and water can be delivered, and civilians can move to safety,” Tedros stated.