FILE - In this file photo dated Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, during his meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma, at the Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria, South... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this file photo dated Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, during his meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma, at the Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria, South Africa. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has long faced United States sanctions over his government's... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this file photo dated Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, during his meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma, at the Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria, South Africa. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has long faced United States sanctions over his government's... (Associated Press) FILE - In this file photo dated Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, during his meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma, at the Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria, South... (Associated Press) 
 
 GENEVA (AP) — Shock and condemnation continued Saturday after Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was named a "goodwill ambassador" for the World Health Organization by the agency's first African leader. 
 
 The 93-year-old Mugabe, the world's oldest head of state, has long been criticized at home for going overseas for medical treatment as Zimbabwe's once-prosperous economy falls apart. Mugabe also faces United States sanctions over his government's human rights abuses. 
 
 "The decision to appoint Robert Mugabe as a WHO goodwill ambassador is deeply disappointing and wrong," said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, a major British charitable foundation. "Robert Mugabe fails in every way to represent the values WHO should stand for." 
 
 Ireland's health minister, Simon Harris, called the appointment "offensive, bizarre." ''Not the Onion," tweeted the head of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, in a reference to the satirical news site. 
 
 With Mugabe on hand, WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia announced the appointment at a conference in Uruguay this week on non-communicable diseases. 
 
 Tedros, who became WHO's first African director-general this year, said Mugabe could use the role "to influence his peers in his region" on the issue. He described Zimbabwe as "a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the center of its policies." A WHO spokeswoman confirmed the comments to The Associated Press. 
 
 Two dozen organizations — including the World Heart Federation, Action Against Smoking and Cancer Research U.K. — released a statement slamming the appointment, saying health officials were "shocked and deeply concerned" and citing his "long track record of human rights violations." 
 
 The groups said they had raised their concerns with Tedros on the sidelines of the conference, to no avail. U.N. agencies typically choose celebrities as ambassadors to draw attention to issues of concern, but they hold little actual power. 
 
 Zimbabwe's government has not commented, but the state-run Zimbabwe Herald newspaper called the appointment a "new feather in president's cap." 
 
 The southern African nation once was known as the region's prosperous breadbasket. But in 2008, the charity Physicians for Human Rights released a report documenting failures in Zimbabwe's health system, saying Mugabe's policies had led to a man-made crisis. 
 
 "The government of Robert Mugabe presided over the dramatic reversal of its population's access to food, clean water, basic sanitation and health care," the group concluded. Mugabe's policies led directly to "the shuttering of hospitals and clinics, the closing of its medical school and the beatings of health workers." 
 
 The 93-year-old Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, has come under criticism at home for his frequent overseas travels that have cost impoverished Zimbabwe millions of dollars. His repeated visits to Singapore have heightened concerns over his health, even as he pursues re-election next year. 
 
 The U.S. in 2003 imposed targeted sanctions, a travel ban and an asset freeze against Mugabe and close associates, citing his government's rights abuses and evidence of electoral fraud. 

 Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Critics say health services have collapsed under Mr Mugabe's rule 
 
 The choice of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe as a World Health Organization (WHO) goodwill ambassador has been criticised by several organisations including the British government. 
 
 It described his selection as "surprising and disappointing" given his country's rights record, and warned it could overshadow the WHO's work. 
 
 The opposition in Zimbabwe and campaign groups also criticised the move. 
 
 The WHO head said he was "rethinking his approach in light of WHO values". 
 
 Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had previously praised Zimbabwe for its commitment to public health. 
 
 He said it was a country that "places universal health coverage and health promotion at the centre of its policies to provide health care to all". 
 
 Mr Mugabe's appointment as a "goodwill ambassador" to help tackle non-communicable diseases has attracted a chorus of criticism. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Critics have long argued that Zimbabwe's health service is not meeting the needs of patients 
 
 The British government said it was all the more surprising given US and EU sanctions against him. 
 
 "We have registered our concerns" with the director general, a spokesman said. 
 
 "Although Mugabe will not have an executive role, his appointment risks overshadowing the work undertaken globally by the WHO on non-communicable diseases." 
 
 Zimbabwe's leader has been frequently taken to task over human rights abuses by the European Union and the US. 
 
 Critics say Zimbabwe's health care system has collapsed, with staff often going without pay while medicines are in short supply. 
 
 Dr Tedros, who is Ethiopian, is the first African to lead the WHO. He was elected in May with a mandate to tackle perceived politicisation in the organisation. 
 
 'Basic necessities lacking' 
 
 US-based campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it was an embarrassment to give the ambassador role to Mr Mugabe, because his "utter mismanagement of the economy has devastated health services". 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Critics of the president say that Zimbabwe's health care system is in a shambolic state 
 
 HRW's Kenneth Roth said Mr Mugabe's appointment was a cause for concern because the president and some of his officials travel abroad for treatment. 
 
 "When you go to Zimbabwean hospitals, they lack the most basic necessities," he said. 
 
 Zimbabwe's main MDC opposition party also denounced the WHO move. 
 
 "The Zimbabwe health delivery system is in a shambolic state, it is an insult," spokesman Obert Gutu told AFP. 
 
 "Mugabe trashed our health delivery system... he allowed our public hospitals to collapse." 
 
 Other groups who have criticised Mr Mugabe's appointment include the Wellcome Trust, the NCD Alliance, UN Watch, the World Heart Federation and Action Against Smoking. 
 
 President Mugabe heard about his appointment while attending a conference held by the WHO, a UN agency, on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Montevideo, Uruguay. 
 
 He told delegates his country had adopted several strategies to combat the challenges presented by such diseases, which the WHO says kill about 40 million people a year and include cancers, respiratory diseases and diabetes. 
 
 "Zimbabwe has developed a national NCD policy, a palliative care policy, and has engaged United Nations agencies working in the country, to assist in the development of a cervical cancer prevention and control strategy," Mr Mugabe was reported by the state-run Zimbabwe Herald newspaper as saying. 
 
 But the president admitted that Zimbabwe was similar to other developing countries in that it was "hamstrung by a lack of adequate resources for executing programmes aimed at reducing NCDs and other health conditions afflicting the people". 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Medicine is often in short supply at Zimbabwe's hospitals, critics say 
 
 Stardust lacking 
 
 Imogen Foulkes, BBC News, Geneva 
 
 The UN has a bit of thing for goodwill ambassadors, especially famous ones. 
 
 Angelina Jolie, as ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency, was regularly pictured comforting displaced families in over-crowded camps. 
 
 Swiss tennis star Roger Federer visits aid projects in Africa for Unicef and plays charity matches to raise money. 
 
 Further back in time, film star and Unicef goodwill ambassador Audrey Hepburn visited disaster zones and graced gala dinners where her glittering presence was an encouragement to donors. 
 
 The publicity does attract support for relief efforts. 
 
 But it is hard to imagine 93-year-old Robert Mugabe fulfilling a similar remit. 
 
 Will he provide comfort in WHO field clinics in conflict zones? Would one of his suit jackets fetch a high price at auction? Would the presence of a man who is widely accused of human rights abuses encourage more $10,000-a-plate attendees at a gala ball? 
 
 Somehow it just does not seem likely, which begs the question, what exactly is Mr Mugabe going to do in his new role? The World Health Organization has not made this at all clear. 

 This article is over 1 year old 
 
 Decision will be re-evaluated after appointment of Zimbabwean despot provokes global anger 
 
 The head of the World Health Organization has said he is rethinking his decision to name Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, as a goodwill ambassador after the move provoked global outrage. 
 
 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the UN health agency, had this week asked Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old authoritarian leader to serve in the role to help tackle non-communicable diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and asthma across Africa. 
 
 The decision triggered confusion and anger among WHO member states and activists who noted that Zimbabwe’s health care system, like many of its public services, has collapsed under Mugabe’s regime. 
 
 “I’m listening. I hear your concerns. Rethinking the approach in light of WHO values. I will issue a statement as soon as possible,” Tedros, a former Ethiopian health minister, tweeted on Saturday night. 
 
 Earlier in the day the UK government criticised the WHO’s decision as “surprising and disappointing”. A Downing Street spokesman said British diplomats had raised serious concerns with Tedros. 
 
 A UK government spokesman said the WHO decision was at odds with US and EU sanctions against Mugabe. “Although Mugabe will not have an executive role, his appointment risks overshadowing the work undertaken globally by the WHO on non-communicable diseases,” he said. 
 
 The US state department said: “This appointment clearly contradicts the United Nations ideals of respect for human rights and human dignity.” 
 
 And the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said he thought Mugabe’s appointment “was a bad April Fool’s joke”. 
 
 
 
 'The president sleeps with one eye open': Mugabe reshuffles as power games begin Read more 
 
 Mugabe was in Uruguay for the announcement by Tedros, the former Ethiopian health minister who was elected as the WHO’s first director general from Africa this year after defeating the British candidate, David Nabarro, in three close rounds of voting. 
 
 Tedros said he was “honoured” to announce that Mugabe had agreed to serve as a goodwill ambassador on non-communicable diseases for Africa. He hailed Zimbabwe as “a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the centre of its policies to provide healthcare to all”. 
 
 The choice of Mugabe for the role has also angered opposition parties in Zimbabwe and human rights campaigners who accuse the leader of violent repression, election rigging and presiding over the country’s economic ruin. 
 
 
 
 Iain Levine, a programme director at Human Rights Watch, tweeted: 
 
 
 
 Iain Levine (@iainlevine) Given Mugabe's appalling human rights record, calling him a Goodwill Ambassador for anything embarrasses @WHO and @DrTedros https://t.co/fsqDSraWc9 
 
 The main opposition party in Zimbabwe, MDC, described the appointment as “laughable”. “The Zimbabwe health delivery system is in a shambolic state. It is an insult,” the spokesman Obert Gutu said. 
 
 “Mugabe trashed our health delivery system. He and his family go outside of the country for treatment in Singapore after he allowed our public hospitals to collapse.” 
 
 Grace Mugabe denies plotting to poison rival for Zimbabwe presidency Read more 
 
 Mugabe is in increasingly fragile health and makes regular trips abroad for medical treatment. 
 
 Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper reported the appointment under the headline “New feather in President’s cap”. It said Mugabe had told the WHO conference in Montevideo on Wednesday that Zimbabwe had developed a national policy on non-communicable diseases, and that he had called for more funds for developing nations. 
 
 According to the WHO, non-communicable diseases are by far the world’s leading cause of death, killing more than 36 million people a year. 
 
 UN agencies such as the WHO, UNHCR and Unesco all appoint goodwill ambassadors to highlight specific causes and often to draw publicity. 
 
 Unicef ambassadors include the singer Katy Perry and the tennis player Serena Williams.
– The World Health Organization has chosen a new "goodwill ambassador" whose human rights abuses have left him with very little goodwill internationally: Robert Mugabe. The 93-year-old president of Zimbabwe was chosen by new WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to help fight non-communicable diseases like strokes and asthma across Africa, the BBC reports. The Guardian reports that the appointment was condemned by multiple governments and human rights groups, which pointed out that health care in Zimbabwe has collapsed under Mugabe's regime—and that Mugabe has been regularly leaving the country to seek medical treatment elsewhere. "The decision to appoint Robert Mugabe as a WHO goodwill ambassador is deeply disappointing and wrong," says Dr. Jeremy Farrar of the Wellcome Trust, a British charitable foundation, per the AP. "Robert Mugabe fails in every way to represent the values WHO should stand for." A group of around two dozen other health organizations said they were "shocked and deeply concerned" by the appointment. A spokesman for Zimbabwean opposition party MDC described the appointment as "laughable." "Mugabe trashed our health delivery system," he said.