Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: WHO Director-General re-elected

May 27, 2022

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was re-elected as Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) with overwhelming support after running unopposed for a second term.

What is the career profile of Tedros?

Tedros is from Ethiopia and is the first African to head the World Health Organization (WHO). He was Ethiopia’s former minister of health and foreign affairs. He was elected for a second term as Director-General of the WHO as he received more than 2/3^rd of secret-ballot votes cast, as needed to be appointed as the Director-General of the WHO.

What are the highlights of his first term in the office?

Tedros spearheaded the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. His first term as Director-General of the WHO was turbulent, as he faced criticism regarding the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and also grappled with a sexual abuse scandal involving WHO staff in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

During his first term, Donald Trump accused WHO of being China’s puppet. Trump also began pulling the USA out of the WHO. However, since Joe Biden took over as president of the USA, Tedros enjoyed support in the USA.

Tedros also faced main criticism from his country Ethiopia. After Tedros spoke about the dire humanitarian situation in Tigray, Ethiopia’s government accused him of having abused his office to advance propaganda. However, many African countries were particularly pleased by his relentless efforts to provide COVID vaccines to poorer nations and the attention paid by him to the African continent in general.

There are many challenges ahead for the Tedros and WHO. With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing, there are demands for reforms in the entire global health system. And new diseases like hepatitis of mysterious origin, and monkeypox are a matter of concern.

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