Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been re-elected to serve as the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the next five years. The new term of the Director-General will commence on 16 August 2022.
On retaining his position, Dr Tedros stated, “Humbled as well as honoured to be elected to serve a 2nd term as WHO Director-General. I am deeply grateful for the trust & confidence of Member States. I thank all health workers & my WHO colleagues around the globe. I am looking forward to continuing our journey together”.
Dr Tedros has been re-elected during the ongoing World Health Assembly’s 75th summit in Geneva.
“This honour, though, comes with great responsibility, and I am committed to working with all countries, my colleagues around the world, and our valued partners, to ensure WHO delivers on its mission to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable”, Dr Tedros further adds.
WHO Executive Board, meeting in January 2022, nominated Dr Tedros to become the international health agency’s Director-General for the second time.
World Health leaders have commended the efforts and leadership shown by Dr Tedros during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was first elected in 2017 for the post, before which he also served as the chair of the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; as chair of the Roll Back Malaria – (RBM) Partnership Board; and as co-chair of the Board of the Partnership for the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
In addition, during the ongoing WHA75 summit, WHO adopts a landmark decision to improve WHO’s financing model where Member States target a gradual increase of their membership dues to represent 50% of WHO’s core budget by the 2030-2031 budget cycle.
“The current financing model has been identified by many experts as posing a risk to the integrity & independence of its work. WHO’s over-reliance on voluntary contributions results in an ongoing misalignment between organizational priorities & the ability to finance them”, the international health agency tweeted.