WHO Is Ready for the Election of New Director-General
In her final opening address to the World Health Assembly as Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan offered some advice to delegates “as you continue to shape the future of this Organization”.
She called on the Health Assembly to make “reducing inequalities” a guiding ethical principle. “WHO stands for fairness,” she said. Countries should also work to improve collection of health data and make health strategies more accountable.
Protecting scientific evidence should form “the bedrock of policy”, said Dr Chan, citing vaccine refusal as one of the reasons that the “tremendous potential of vaccines is not yet fully realized”.
She stressed the importance of continued innovation, citing the research partnership between WHO and others to produce an effective and highly affordable meningitis A vaccine that has transformed the lives of millions of people in Africa.
“Meeting the ambitious targets in the Sustainable Development Goals depends on innovation,” she said.
She then asked governments and partners to safeguard WHO’s integrity in all stakeholder engagements. “The Framework for engagement with non-state actors is a prime instrument for doing so,” and to “listen to civil society”: “Civil society organizations are best placed to hold governments and businesses, like the tobacco, food and alcohol industries, accountable. They are the ones who can give the people who suffer the most a face and a voice.”
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In closing, Dr Chan asked government representatives to: “Remember the people…Behind every number is a person who defines our common humanity and deserves our compassion, especially when suffering or premature death can be prevented.”
Earlier in the day, the Health Assembly elected Professor Veronica Skvortsova, Minister of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, as its new President.
Five Vice-Presidents were also appointed from Cabo Verde, the Cook Islands, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Somalia and Suriname.
Some 3500 delegates from WHO’s 194 Member States – including a large proportion of the world’s health ministers – are attending the Health Assembly, which ends on 31 May. They are currently debating ways to advance the 2030 agenda, focusing on building better systems for health.
Election of New Director-General
Today, Member States will elect a new Director-General, who will take office for a five-year term on 1 July 2017.
The three nominees for the position, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia; Dr David Nabarro of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Dr Sania Nishtar of Pakistan, will each address the Health Assembly for 15 minutes today afternoon, starting at 14.00 (CET).
Dr Tedros will speak first, followed by Dr Nabarro and then by Dr Nishtar. The three addresses will be webcast. The election will take place by secret ballot and its result will be communicated once the process has been completed. The Director-General Elect will take the oath of office in a public ceremony, which will be webcast.
