The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday reversed his decision to name Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador following widespread uproar against the appointment. 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a former Ethiopian health minister who took charge of the UN agency in July, had earlier this week given Mugabe the honorary role to help combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa. But activists, public health experts and key WHO donors like Britain, Canada and the United States condemned the move, saying Zimbabwe's healthcare system has collapsed under Mugabe's 37-year rule. 

"Over the last few days, I have reflected on my appointment of H.E. President Robert Mugabe as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for NCDs in Africa. As a result, I have decided to rescind the appointment," Tedros said in a statement.    

"I have listened carefully to all who have expressed their concerns," he added. "I have also consulted with the government of Zimbabwe and we have concluded that this decision is in the best interests of the World Health Organization." 

In Zimbabwe, Foreign Minister Walter Mzembi said that "the inordinate noise around the designation... does not assist the cause in the first place," according to state-run broadcaster ZBC.  

"So on the balance, it is wiser to let go, and help WHO focus on its mandate," he added. 

British Prime Minister Theresa May's office tweeted that it welcomed WHO's "decision to rescind President Mugabe's appointment & pleased @DrTedros heard concerns." 

Canada's Foreign Ministry also applauded the decision, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he thought the nomination was "a bad April fool's joke" when he first learned of it.  

In announcing the appointment, Tedros had hailed Zimbabwe as "a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the center of its policies to provide health care to all." 

That claim was widely blasted by critics, who noted that the 93-year-old and increasingly frail Mugabe travels abroad for his own medical needs, calling that a sign of the devastation he has wrought on Zimbabwe's health system. Zimbabwe's main opposition MDC Party had called the appointment "laughable" and "an insult."