Calling it the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world” with 6 million people without access to basic services, Tedros asked in an emotional appeal why the situation is not receiving the same attention as the Ukraine conflict.
“Maybe the reason is people’s skin color,” Tedros, who is from Tigray, said at a virtual media briefing on Wednesday. At a briefing in April this year, he questioned whether equal attention was paid to “black and white lives” in emergencies around the world.
Fighting between Ethiopian and Tigrayan forces has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands severely food insecure, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center.
Last year, the crisis set a world record for displacements in a single year, causing over 5.1 million displacements.
Mike Ryan, WHO’s Director of Emergencies, also commented on an apparent lack of concern about the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa and the resulting public health crisis.
“Nobody seems to give a damn about what’s happening in the Horn of Africa,” Ryan said at a virtual media briefing on Wednesday.
The WHO called for $123.7 million to address health problems stemming from rising malnutrition in the region, which is home to around 200 million people and millions are starving.