World treats crises unequally, WHO chief says

GENEVA－The World Health Organization's chief said on Wednesday that the world was treating humanitarian crises unequally, with the attention now focused on Ukraine.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the emergencies happening in other parts of the world were not being taken as seriously and hoped the international community "comes back to its senses".

"I don't know if the world really gives equal attention to black and white lives. The whole attention to Ukraine is very important of course, because it impacts the whole world," Tedros told a news conference. "But even a fraction of it is not being given to Tigray, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria and the rest. A fraction. I need to be blunt and honest that the world is not treating the human race the same way. Some are more equal than others. And when I say this, it pains me. Because I see it. Very difficult to accept, but it's happening."

Tedros, who is from Tigray, said the United Nations had determined that 100 trucks of lifesaving humanitarian supplies are needed to be going into the besieged northern region of Ethiopia every day.

He also said since a truce was declared, at least 2,000 trucks should have gone in, but only 20 have done so thus far.

Tedros said he was worried that the 20 trucks going in could be just a "diplomatic maneuver" on part of the government in Addis Ababa.

"In effect, the siege by the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces continues," he said.

"To avert the humanitarian calamity and hundreds of thousands more people from dying, we need unfettered humanitarian access from those reinforcing the siege."

But Tedros said global attention was simply not being placed on such humanitarian crises.

"I hope the world comes back to its senses and treats all human life equally," he said. "What is happening in Ethiopia is a tragic situation. People are being burned alive …because of their ethnicity… Without any crime. So we need to balance. We need to take every life seriously because every life is precious."

The UN said hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation in Tigray, where people have for months also faced fuel shortages and a lack of basic services such as electricity, telecommunications, internet and banking.

Across northern Ethiopia, the 17-month conflict has driven more than 2 million people from their homes and left more than 9 million people in need of food aid, according to the UN.

Tedros acknowledged that the conflict in Ukraine is globally significant, but asked if other crises are being accorded enough attention.

"I need to be blunt and honest that the world is not treating the human race the same way," he said. "Some are more equal than others."

The UN has called Yemen the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The UN is also seeking its largest single-country appeal for funds for Afghanistan, which is on the brink of economic collapse, with more than 24 million people needing humanitarian assistance to survive.

In neighboring Syria, the civil war erupted in 2011. Around half a million people have been killed and millions have been displaced in the conflict, which has battered the economy.

Agencies Via Xinhua