Tedros Re-Appointed as Chief of The World Health Organization

On Tuesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the incumbent director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), was reappointed to a second five-year term by the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA).

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Elected to the post at the 70th WHA in May 2017, Tedros was the sole candidate this year. In his first remarks after his reelection, Tedros said he appreciated the WHO family for their hard work and thanked the WHO member states for their trust.

"Humbled and honoured to be elected to serve a second term as WHO Director-General. I'm deeply grateful for the trust and confidence... I thank all health workers and my WHO colleagues around the world. I look forward to continuing our journey together," he tweeted.

“This honour, though, comes with great responsibility and I am committed to working with all countries... to ensure WHO delivers on its mission to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable.”

He said his priorities were health promotion, primary health care, emergency preparedness and response, and science, innovation and digital health. Tedros shall serve his second term from Aug. 16, 2022, to Aug. 15, 2027.

During his first term, Tedros carried out transformations in the WHO to increase its effectiveness and impact at the country level.

He has also guided the multilateral response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other humanitarian crises in various countries.