I TOLD YOU SO W.H.O., BUT YOU WOULD NOT LISTEN!

I would not have written this commentary but for the fact that I have been warning, pleading and begging the World Health Organization (WHO) to get a competent professional to man its helm for years. Now that COVID19 (novel coronavirus) has become a “pandemic” that has spread to all corners of the globe, the man at the helm of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, seems as clueless as ever.

When Adhanom visited China on January 30, 2020, he declared China “is actually doing more than it is required to do.” He added, “It’s not a time for judgment… This is a time for solidarity, not stigma.”

On February 24, 2020, WHO said the “coronavirus outbreak was not out of control globally nor causing large-scale deaths and it was ‘too early’ to speak of a pandemic. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, ‘Using the word pandemic does not fit the facts. We must focus on containment while preparing for a potential pandemic’.”

The spark that set off the coronavirus fire in Wuhan, China in December 2019 has, in less than three months, become a global conflagration in March 2020.

Could Adhanom have declared a pandemic on January 30, 2020? On February 24, 2020?

Instead of moralizing about not being judgmental, could Adhanom have stressed the potential for a global pandemic and called for immediate preventive global action to deal with the threat?

Why did Adhanom wait until March 11 to declare a pandemic? Did he have to wait until after various European countries began quarantining large sections of their countries to stop the spread of the virus?

What is Adhanom’s game plan to deal with coronavirus going forward? Offer moral consolation?

In his latest public statement, Adhanom proved once again his cluelessness and incompetence in his role as Director-General.

The best he could offer the world from his lofty WHO office in Geneva, Switzerland to deal with the coronavirus crises was to proclaim it a “pandemic” and lambaste countries for not taking action soon enough.  Obviously, Adhanom is unaware that as he points an accusatory finger at other countries, three fingers are pointing squarely at him.

In his statement, Adhanom griped and bellyached.

He complained about the “alarming levels of inaction” by countries on the coronavirus crises. He declared “We have never seen a pandemic sparked by coronavirus. This is the first pandemic cause by coronavirus. We have rung the alarm bells loud and clear.” (Wow! How deep is that observation?!)

Adhanom made four recommendation, without any explanation, to deal with the coronavirus crises: 1) prepare and be ready, 2) detect, protect and treat, 3) reduce transmissions and 4) innovate and learn.

Who writes Adhanom’s speeches? They are making a laughingstock out of him!

How does one do any of these four things? Adhanom does not say.

In his position and health minister in Ethiopia, Adhanom was best known for covering up epidemics and inflating public health services and achievements.

It is not easy to cover up the coronavirus crises.

Watch Fox Television Tucker Carlson’s recent commentary on WHO and Tedros Adhanom:

 

Well, I hate to say, “I told you so WHO and World. You should have listened to me.”

But I just gotta say it, “I DONE TOLD YOU SO!”

Since Adhanom’s name was publicly mentioned as a possible candidate for the top World Health Organization (W.H.O.) job, I have been telling WHO officials and the world Tedros Adhanom was the wrong man for the job of Director-General.

Back in June 2016, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Guess Who is Coming to WHO in 2017?”. Here are excerpts from what I wrote at the time opposing Tedros Adhanom’s nomination to the position of Director-General of the World Health Organization:

It takes chutzpah to go for the top world health job even though one manifestly lacks the qualifications and experience, mental fortitude, judgement or savvy for the job.

I believe Adhanom will be very bad news at WHO. But I realize that it is all about global bureaucratic politics and political correctness. The powers that be gotta have a black African face in that position. Why not Adhanom? They just need to meet their quota. It is the wrong man at the right time.

If Adhanom snags the top WHO job in 2017, well, he would have outsmarted, outfoxed, outmaneuvered and out-capered all of the other TPLF thugs.

Adhanom’s record as T-TPLF health and foreign minister is festooned with ineptitude, cluelessness and inanity.

Adhanom’s shallowness and cluelessness in matters of foreign policy and diplomacy are simply incredible.

His public speeches and statements generally lack not only substance and coherence, but are simply nonsensical.

Adhanom’s diplomatic speeches are chock full of platitudes, clichés, buzzwords and hokum. He has a distinct proclivity to frame complex issues in worn out and left-over phrases from the days of student activism.”

Adhanom manifests little understanding of international diplomacy and appears to lack even an elementary understanding of international law, treaties and conventions.

In my May 2017, after it was announced Adhanom is a finalist for the director-general position at the World Health Organization, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Who for WHO? A Top Leader of a Terrorist Organization, That’s Who!”. Here are excerpts from that commentary:

This commentary demonstrates beyond a shadow of doubt that Adhanom does not have the experience, competence, skill sets, intellectual capacity, schooling, professionalism or judgment to become the leader of WHO.

The commentary further demonstrates that Adhanom is a PC (political correctness) candidate, and if selected, an appointment. WHO wants to put a black face on its logo to show how empathetic and sensitive it is to the plight of the billions of Africans and others suffering from health problems. The decision to hire Adhanom shall haunt WHO for decades to come.

Adhanom is a lightweight by any standard, including education, training or experience, for the WHO directorship. Adhanom puffs about being a “globally recognized researcher on Malaria” and self-congratulates on his “leadership in the rapidly evolving field of global health”.

His overblown and padded resume is not only filled with lies, damned lies and statislies, it is also laughable.

Adhanom was “state health minister”  between 2005-12. During that period, Adhanom concealed, covered up, denied or failed to report to the Ethiopian public or international health monitoring organizations, including WHO, at least three major epidemics in Ethiopia.

On May 13, 2017, the New  York Times reported  that Adhanom had denied four major epidemics in Ethiopia.

In June 2006, there was a documented major cholera outbreak in Oromiya region. Adhanom denied its occurrence and covered it up.

In February 2007, there were documented  outbreaks of cholera in Ethiopia.

Adhanom denied its occurrence and covered it up.

In September 2009, Reuters documented cholera and other diarrheal diseases had infected  18,000 people in Ethiopia.  Adhanom denied its occurrence and covered it up.

In July 2011, Adhanom suppressed information on a major epidemic ravaging Ethiopia.

In my October 2017 commentary entitled, “World Health Organization Board: I told you Tedros Adhanom is an Empty Suit…!”, I wrote the following:

Last week, Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization, nominated Robert Mugabe, the 93 year-old president of Zimbabwe as that organization’s Goodwill Ambassador for Noncommunciable Diseases, a position currently held by former N.Y. City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

In announcing Mugabe’s ambassadorship, Adhanom said, “I am honoured to be joined by President Mugabe, of Zimbabwe, a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the centre of its policies to provide health care to all.”

When I read about Mugabe’s appointment, only one question to my mind: On what planet does Adhanom spend most of his time?

Adhanom got the WHO job through nepotism and Big Bill pulling the money string. (BTW: I sent my congratulations to Bill Gates in May when Adhanom snagged the WHO job. In 2010, the Gates Foundation gave WHO $2.5 billion. That Foundation has dumped billions more in handouts to WHO over the past seven years.)

Adhanom is so shallow his public statements on health policy are full of hokum– platitudes, clichés, buzzwords, catchphrases, doublespeak and pretentious nonsense.

Adhanom recently declared, “All roads lead to universal coverage. This will be my central priority.”  Does Adhanom have a clue what universal coverage is all about? Universal coverage is a phrase used to describe provision of health care and financial protection related to health care to all citizens of a particular country, not all citizens of the world or the universe.

In July 2017 he said, “Without health, people have nothing. Without health, we have nothing as humanity.” Now, that is deep coming from the head of  WHO. Is he trying to implement as global health policy the old saying, “Without your health, you got nothing”.

(In his March 11, 2020 statement Adhanom declared “We have never seen a pandemic sparked by coronavirus. This is the first pandemic cause by coronavirus. We have rung the alarm bells loud and clear.” (Wow! How deep is that observation?!)

What Adhanom has done with the appointment of Mugabe attests not only to his lack of intelligence and common sense but also poverty of judgment and prudence. From the Mugabe fiasco, only two conclusions could be drawn about Adhanom as an unfit world leader in the field of health: 1) He is a leader of abysmal gullibility without a trace of critical thinking. 2) He is a leader without depth of understanding, insight and foresight to the point of mindlessness and recklessness.

He does not have the native intelligence, learned judgement or philosophical discernment to be able to tell the difference between good and bad advice and decisions.

I cannot say I do not pity Adhanom. I feel sorry for him. Some may find it strange when I say despite my opposition to Adhanom’s appointment to become WHO Director-General and my low personal opinion of him, I still want him to succeed in leading that organization as the foremost global health monitor and server.

Serving the heath care needs of the world’s poor is of paramount importance to me, and if Adhanom succeeds in his mission and becomes a transformational leader at WHO, I will gladly to take back every word I have said about him.

In my January 2018 commentary, “Tedros Adhanom’s Pay to Play at the AdWHO-ville, Geneva” , I wrote the following:

Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), is hell-bent on changing WHO into AdWHOnom.

Tedros Adhanom is not a medical doctor. He “holds a PhD in Community Health and boasts of having technical and political competences that can help the WHO to move forward – as a health expert and seasoned diplomat.”

Adhanom is clueless about elementary concepts of health care. He recently declared, “All roads lead to universal coverage. This will be my central priority.”  Adhanom is clueless that “universal coverage” is a phrase used to describe provision of health care and financial protection related to health care to all citizens of a particular country, not all citizens of the world or the universe.

Tedros Adhanom was not selected for experience, knowledge or abilities.

He is not competent to run a neighborhood clinic let alone a global health organization.

The million-dollar question: Can Adhanom deal effectively with the global coronavirus crises?

WHO, you made your bed. Now the world has to lie in it!

There it is! I told you so!