Poll: Who should be the next WHO Director-General?

Margaret ArbogastNews

A new Director-General for the WHO will be voted on by UN Member States at the Seventieth World Health Assembly in May. It is the first year that the vote is open to the organization’s entire 194 country membership instead of just the Executive Board. Following in this spirit of transparency, we at GBCHealth thought it might be interesting to offer our partners the opportunity to have an early vote on the final three candidates.

Note: Unfortunately, this will have no impact on actual results.

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Need a little more information on the candidates…

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Candidate Statement: A visionary leader, he guided Ethiopia and numerous global health organizations to achieve game-changing results and increase their impact. An experienced reformer, he transformed Ethiopia’s health system to expand quality care and access to tens of millions of Ethiopians, and helped key global actors like The Global Fund and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership operate with greater efficiency and effectiveness. And, a skilled diplomat, his collaborative, context-specific, and solutions-oriented approach to global health and international relations is respected worldwide.

Our world has changed. Today, we face unprecedented health threats – from pandemics, to antibiotic-resistant infections, to climate change.  We need a strong and effective World Health Organization to meet these challenges.  As Director-General, Dr. Tedros’ vision, collaborative approach and proven effectiveness will help WHO better protect the health of all people.

View candidate’s webpage.

David Nabarro

Our world is challenged by a changing climate, violent conflict, persistent poverty and mass migration. The benefits of globalization and new technologies remain unequally shared. As a result, people face an ever-growing avalanche of threats to their health. I have worked on such issues for over 40 years. As I see it, the need for a robust, reliable and responsive World Health Organization has never been more urgent.

All my professional life I have been working in public health – as a community-based practitioner, educator, public servant, director, diplomat and coordinator. In the past 12 years, successive Secretaries-General of the United Nations have entrusted me to lead collective action on pressing and complex challenges – responding to avian and pandemic influenza, promoting food security, ending malnutrition, combating Ebola, promoting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and advancing efforts relating to climate change.

I want to be sure that WHO is in a position to be the undisputed leader on all health issues. WHO must constantly strive for excellence in people’s health and health systems everywhere. WHO should, through its Member States and collaborating centres, nurture fullest attainment of people’s health in all communities. WHO’s performance should lead it to be recognized as the world’s specialized agency for health, earning and maintaining trust of governments, communities and people.

View candidate’s webpage.

Sania Nishtar

Dr. Sania Nishtar, best known for her bold and transformational leadership in health, is a prominent candidate for Director-General of the World Health Organization. A combination of high-level experience in government, civil society and in multilateral institutions, as well as her background as a physician, scientist and thought leader on public health, uniquely position her to drive the reform of the WHO, ensuring its fitness to deal with the health challenges of the 21st century. In every role she has taken on, her defining feature has been her ability to deliver results with high integrity. Her skills and experience range across institution-building, public policy, research, advocacy and service delivery and would make her one of the most qualified Director-Generals in the history of the WHO. She is the leader that the world needs to take the helm at WHO.

View candidate’s webpage.

Margaret ArbogastPoll: Who should be the next WHO Director-General?