Dr Tedros to be renamed WHO boss after going unchallenged
For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here.
London: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be re-endorsed for a second term as head of the World Health Organisation after going unchallenged for the role despite coming under heavy criticism for the body’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The WHO announced on Friday that Dr Tedros was the sole candidate put forward by member countries.
WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Credit:AP
He was not put forward by his native Ethiopia. A bulk nomination was put forward by mostly EU members including: France, Iceland, Germany, Austria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden.
“An impactful World Health Organisation is now more important than ever before,” Katharina Stasch, Germany’s permanent representative in Geneva said.
“The process of strengthening the WHO, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, must continue with full and undivided commitment.
“The World Health Organisation needs strong, pragmatic and visionary leadership,” Dr Stasch said.
Dr Tedros pointed to his record as WHO Director General since 2017 as to why he deserved a second term.
“After witnessing up close the world’s response to the pandemic, I have a unique understanding of the dynamics that have brought us to where we are, and a deep commitment to making the global system fit for purpose, with WHO at its centre,” he said in his application letter.
“But more work is needed, urgently.
“I stand ready to maintain this drive to make WHO ready to deal with the challenges lying ahead,” he said.
He will be reappointed when at the World Health Assembly in May taking his total term to a decade.
Early in the pandemic, Dr Tedros was a target of the Trump Administration which accused him of being too close to Beijing and subsequently too slow to alert the world about the COVID-19 and stop it from spreading from Wuhan, China to the rest of the world.
But under the Biden Administration, relations have improved, with the US rejoining the organisation and resuming funding although it too, has criticised the WHO over its failed investigation into the origins of the virus.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
Most Viewed in World
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article