Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus may be the head of the World Health Organisation but as an Ethiopian citizen he is ”worried sick” about the state of his relatives and acquaintances in his native country where fighting in the restive Tigray has resumed with deadly intent.
He told of his worries during an interaction with journalists, saying he was not even sure whether some of his relatives are dead or alive since the conflict began in November 2020.
He said attempts by him to send money to relatives who have been driven to destitution and starving have proved futile in a region where accessibility in many ways including through the internet and phones has proved impossible.
The Ethiopian government of Abiy Ahmed has denied shutting down lines of communications but instead blamed it on the activities of the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
Ghebreyesus, a former health minister accused the world of standing idly by while his country is wrecked by conflict, the enormity of which should have spurred the international community to act swiftly and decisively.
He said the carnage in Ukraine is getting all the attention but the security and humanitarian situation in Tigray was much worse than the kind of lukewarm global attention it is attracting.
“Maybe the reason is the colour of the skin of the people in Tigray” he said.
Following the outbreak of the conflict in 2020, Tedros was accused of backing the TPLF rebels with the purchase of arms, an accusation he continues to deny.
After a truce which was reached in March, there was a relative lull in the fighting but this week’s resumption of hostilities has put a worsening humanitarian crisis for civilians in Tigray back in the spotlight once again.
WN/as/APA