(CNN) The World Health Organization is under fire after it selected Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador. The public health agency announced the decision this week, saying the African leader will focus on noncommunicable diseases such as heart attacks and strokes on the continent. But Saturday morning, as public disapproval of the decision grew, WHO's director-general said in a tweet he was "rethinking the approach in light of WHO values." "I'm listening," Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote. "I hear your concerns." Mugabe has long been criticized for corruption and abuse of power, and the decision to name him a goodwill ambassador for WHO stunned health experts and rights activists.Decision by World Health Organization stuns health experts and rights activistsZimbabwe President has long been criticized for corruption and abuse of power
In 2009, Mugabe's ruling party spent more than $250,000 on a lavish birthday party for the leader despite an ongoing food shortage and cholera outbreak in _. Goodwill ambassadors for _ are public figures appointed to two-year terms by the director-general.