Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been removed as a goodwill ambassador, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus named Mugabe to the largely ceremonial post at a high-level WHO meeting on chronic diseases, attended by both men, in Uruguay on Wednesday.
At the time, Tedros praised Zimbabwe as "a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the centre of its policies to provide health care to all".
But Tedros said in a statement on Sunday he had listened to those expressing concerns and heard the "different issues" raised.
After reflection he decided to rescind the appointment, saying it was in the best interests of the WHO.
Several former and current WHO staff had said privately they were appalled at the "poor judgement" and "miscalculation" by Tedros, elected the first African head of WHO in May.
Mugabe was head of the African Union (AU) when the bloc endorsed Tedros - a former health and foreign minister of Ethiopia - over other African candidates.
Mugabe, 93, is blamed in the West for destroying Zimbabwe's economy and numerous human rights abuses during his 37 years leading the country as either president or prime minister.
Britain said Mugabe's appointment as a goodwill ambassador for non-communicable diseases in Africa was "surprising and disappointing" and that it risked overshadowing the WHO's global work. The United States, which has imposed sanctions on Mugabe for alleged human rights violations, said it was "disappointed".
The US administration of President Donald Trump, which is already questioning financial support for some programmes of United Nations agencies, is WHO's largest single donor.
The controversy came as WHO struggles to recover its reputation tarnished by its slowness in tackling the Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa from 2014-2015 under Tedros' predecessor Margaret Chan.
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