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The deadline for nominations to become the next Director-General of the World Health Organization closed yesterday, with six candidates in the race.
You can find out more about the process here.
WHO Regional Director for Europe
Belgium
WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean
Saudi Arabia
Former Qatari Health Minister
Qatar
Indonesian Minister of Health
Indonesia
Former WHO Director for Environment, Climate Change and Health
Spain
Professor and Chair of Hematology and Pediatric Oncology, Yerevan State Medical UniversityFormer WHO Director for Environment, Climate Change and HealthIndonesian Minister of Health
Spain
So, will a new Director-General mean a new direction for the WHO?
Frankly, it doesn’t look like it.
Take Hans Kluge. Under his watch, WHO Europe continued to support sexuality education guidance which says that “sexuality education starts from birth.” He has also argued that illegal immigrants should be given free, taxpayer-funded healthcare.
Then there’s María Neira, who has worked at the WHO for more than 20 years and currently leads its work on environment and climate change. She praised Sadiq Khan’s expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), saying:
“We are now looking at [Khan] with a lot of interest, because if he succeeds we need to use this example for all mayors around the world.”
The names may be changing, but it looks like the direction of travel won’t.
Whoever wins, the WHO looks set to continue getting more and more involved in politics, behaving more like a left-wing campaign group than a health agency and using its influence to push increasingly political agendas.
We’ll be watching the race closely.