World is watching as millions in Tigray are facing health crisis due to conflict, calls out WHO chief
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Sulaiman
- . October 20, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 1:27 am
The Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged the international community, media and world leaders on Wednesday to give the crisis in Ethiopia and people of Tigray region “the attention it deserves”.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has highlighted that there is no other crisis in the world currently in which about 6 million people have been under siege for about two years. He further stressed that there is just a narrow window available now for the international community to act and prevent genocide in Tigray.
“Yes, I’m from Tigray, and yes, this affects me personally. I don’t pretend it doesn’t. Most of my relatives are in the most affected areas, more than 90 per cent of them”, he acknowledged during regular press conference in Geneva. “But my job is to draw the world’s attention to crises that threaten the health of people wherever they are. This is a health crisis for six million people, and the world is not paying enough attention”, he underlined.
Echoing the calls by UN Secretary General earlier this week, Tedros said, “Hostilities in Tigray must end now – including the immediate withdrawal and disengagement of Eritrean armed forces from Ethiopia.”
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Highlighting the catastrophe in Tigray and stressing on the plight of millions in region, Tedros highlighted how the basic essentials like food, fuel, electricity and health services are being used as “weapons of war” while media coverage isn’t allowed in the region. “There are no services for tuberculosis, HIV, diabetes, hypertension and more – those diseases, which are treatable elsewhere, are now a death sentence in Tigray”, he warned.
He added that Covid-19 still remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in region. “While the global situation has obviously improved since the pandemic began, the virus continues to change, and there remain many risks and uncertainties”, he explained, warning that the pandemic can surprise us all again.
