Robert Mugabe becomes 'WHO Goodwill Ambassador'

Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe has controversially been appointed as a "goodwill ambassador to World Health Organisation.

The 93-year-old - who has long faced United States sanctions over his government’s human rights abuses oversaw plummeting life expectancy in his own country - and will supposedly co-ordinate the United Nations organisation's battle against heart disease, cancer and diabetes across Africa.

The role - which comes with the title of 'WHO goodwill ambassador' - will be to encourage African governments to introduce policies to reduce smoking and drinking, improve diets and increase exercise.

With Mugabe on hand, WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus told a conference in Uruguay this week on non-communicable diseases that he’d agreed to be a "goodwill ambassador" on the issue.

Tedros, an Ethiopian who became WHO’s first African director-general this year, said Mugabe could use the role "to influence his peers in his region."

In his speech, Tedros described Zimbabwe as "a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the center of its policies to provide health care to all."