Experts call Olympics “unethical,” want them moved/postponed—CDC disagrees

(credit: Anis-Instituto de Bioética)

With Brazil already swarming with Zika-loaded mosquitoes, hosting 500,000 foreign athletes and spectators for the 2016 Olympic games there in August poses unnecessary health risks and is downright “unethical,” according to an international group of 150 health experts.

In an open letter to Margaret Chan, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, the group strongly urged that the games be moved or postponed.

The health experts appealed to WHO, a specialized agency within the United Nations, because it has a well-established partnership with the International Olympic Committee. The partnership, which was affirmed most recently in 2010, is primarily aimed at coordinating the two groups’s efforts to promote healthy lifestyles, such as through physical activity campaigns and making Olympic games tobacco-free.

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments