Ethiopia Files Objection to Misconduct of WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom

In a letter sent to the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia stated its objection against the Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom's moral, legal and professional standing that threatened WHO's organizational integrity.

Although Ethiopia had nominated Dr. Tedros for the highest office in the global health body, he has not lived up to the integrity and professional expectations required from his office and position, the letter said.

He has been interfering in the internal affairs of Ethiopia, including Ethiopia's relations with the State of Eritrea, the letter says, adding that he continues as an active member and supporter of TPLF that is proscribed as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian parliament.

According to the letter, Dr. Tedros uses his office to advance his political interest at the expense of the interest of Ethiopia, despite hopes that he would cease his misconduct eventually.

Dr. Tedors encourages the TPLF in his media engagements and celebrates what is presumed to be a military success of the group, besides engaging in a selective outrage where he discriminately addresses the humanitarian concerns in Ethiopia, it added.

Through his acts, says the letter, he spread harmful misinformation and compromised WHO's reputation, independence, and credibility which is evident from his social media postings that openly endorse the terror perpetrated by the TPLF against the Ethiopian people.

According to the letter, Dr. Tedros has abused his position by assigning staff in WHO's country office in Ethiopia with a task of executing the plot to inflate the emergency level in Ethiopia, from 1.8 million people to 3.8 million, to warrant humanitarian intervention. “This misrepresentation of facts is used to misinform the UN Security Council.”

In a manner that denigrates the integrity of the UN system and the work of other offices, Dr. Tedros uses his platform to mobilize the UN community against Ethiopia besides providing technical and financial support to the activities of the TPLF, the letter added.

The Government of Ethiopia finally urged the WHO Executive Board to commission an investigation on the Director-General to identify his misconduct and violation of his professional and legal responsibility as provided under the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service, staff rules and regulations of WHO, and Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of WHO.