Tedros nominated as sole candidate to remain at WHO helm

AFP | World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is all but guaranteed a second term after a procedural vote on Tuesday (January 25) made him the sole nominee ahead of a leadership election in May.

The first African leader of the UN health agency said he was “very grateful for the renewed support”, after the WHO’s executive board held a secret-ballot vote approving his nomination as the only candidate for the post.

Tedros, one of the most recognizable figures of the global battle against COVID-19, acknowledged that his first 5-year term had been “challenging and difficult”, and said it was a “great honor” to be given the opportunity to continue the battle.

The former Ethiopian minister of health and foreign affairs is thus expected to be a shoo-in for re-election when all 194 WHO member states cast their ballots for the next director-general in May.

Since COVID-19 burst onto the global stage more than 2 years ago, the 56-year-old malaria specialist has received much praise for the way he has steered the WHO through the crisis.

African countries in particular have been pleased at the attention paid to the continent and at his relentless campaign for poorer nations to get their fair share of COVID-19 vaccines.

Tedros’s second term will likely be dominated by the towering task of strengthening the WHO, the weaknesses of which have been laid bare as the pandemic lashed the planet.

Many countries are demanding significant reforms, but the extent and shape of the changes has yet to be defined, with some nations wary that a stronger WHO might encroach on their sovereignty.

Tedros is also calling for a vast reform of WHO financing, warning it does not have the funding needed to respond to the numerous crises it is asked to respond to around the globe.