The World Health Organization on Sunday cancelled the appointment of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as its goodwill ambassador.

On Saturday, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said he was reconsidering his decision, after the appointment of the controversial leader drew severe criticism from several quarters, including the governments of the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

“I have listened carefully to all who have expressed their concerns and heard the different issues that they have raised,” he said on Sunday. “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.”

Tedros had announced Mugabe’s appointment at a high-level meeting in Uruguay on Wednesday. The WHO chief had said that Mugabe had agreed to “serve as a goodwill ambassador on non-communicable diseases for Africa to influence his peers in his region to prioritise NCDs”.

Mugabe’s government in Zimbabwe has been accused of several human rights violations. The president has been accused of maladministration, which has led to a collapse of the country’s healthcare system, among other administrative failures.