The World Health Organization director-general said he was pained by a racist cartoon carried recently in a Spanish newspaper that depicted South Africans carrying Omicron to Europe.
THE WORLD Health Organization director-general said he was pained by a racist cartoon carried recently in a Spanish newspaper that depicted South Africans carrying Omicron to Europe.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took to his Twitter account: “It pains me that shows of racism like this still plague the challenges facing the world today.
“Caricaturing people crammed in a boat bringing a virus to Europe is disgusting.
It pains me that shows of racism like this still plague the challenges facing the world today.
Caricaturing people crammed in a boat bringing a virus to Europe is disgusting.
We can only advance, as one 🌍 community, by promoting solidarity, not stigma. https://t.co/FtZIJKaIQ4— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 6, 2021
“We can only advance, as one Earth globe Europe-Africa community, by promoting solidarity, not stigma.”
Cartoonist Javi Salado and the newspaper has since apologised, according to The Citizen.
The cartoon was printed on November 28. Shortly after South African scientists discovered the Omicron variant, there were extensive travel bans placed on South Africa.
These included European Union countries, Seychelles, Japan and the USA.
Certain parts of South Africa are currently experiencing a Covid-19 fourth wave, while almost 40% of the population is fully inoculated against the virus.
The county is closing in on 90,000 Covid-19-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
