02 June, 2017
Ethiopia's former health minister Tedros Adhanom has been elected as the new director-general of the United Nation's World Health Organisation (WHO).
Tedros was widely seen as having the support of about 50 African votes, but questions about his role in restricting human rights and Ethiopia's cover-up of a cholera outbreak surfaced late in the race, threatening to tarnish his appeal.
Sania Nishtar, a Pakistani cardiologist and expert in noncommunicable diseases, was eliminated after a first round with 38 votes. The New York Times reported that during the leadership campaign, Tedros was accused of having covered up repeated outbreaks of cholera in Ethiopia, which may have delayed the global response, and, more recently, the use of a cholera vaccine there.
Chan's decade-long tenure which ends on June 30 was notably marred by condemnation of the agency's response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
Before his election to the WHO director-general position, Tedros was Ethiopia's foreign affairs minister, and from 2005 to 2012 he was the country's health minister, according to a press release today from the WHO.
Out of the 194 member-states of World Health Organization, 4 were barred from voting over outstanding payment of dues to the World Health Organization, and 4 others were absent. "I believe the global commitment to sustainable development - enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals - offers a unique opportunity to address the social, economic and political determinants of health and improve the health and wellbeing of people everywhere", said Dr. Tedros in a campaign statement.
All three candidates said that if they won, they would reform the WHO's bureaucratic system, put an emphasis on universal health care, and prevent the next worldwide pandemic. "All staff, myself included, will be held to account for delivering", said Nabarro.
Tuesday marks the first time countries will get to choose the World Health Organization chief.
"Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was nominated by the Government of Ethiopia, and will begin his five-year term on 1 July 2017", World Health Organization said in a statement following the Tuesday afternoon vote.
"When it happens the world will turn to the WHO for guidance and for leadership". When Chan was confirmed in 2006, she became the first Chinese citizen to lead a major United Nations agency.
Still, Tedros' candidacy also drew controversy. He will serve a five-year term. "That is why I want to lead the WHO-to relentlessly work toward a world in which every individual can lead a healthy and productive life, regardless of who they are or where they live", Dr. Tedros was quoted as saying during his campaign.
