WHO chief Tedros poised for re-election as support grows

Geneva - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has steered the UN agency through attacks on its handling of the Covid-19 crisis

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has gained wide support for a second term as head of the World Health Organisation, formally nominated by at least 17 European Union members and backed by countries in other regions, diplomats said on Thursday.

As the deadline for nominations elapsed, diplomats said that they were unaware of any other names being put forward, suggesting that Tedros will stand unopposed in the May 2022 election.

Tedros, a former health and foreign minister of Ethiopia, elected as WHO’s first African director-general in May 2017, has led the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

He has steered the UN agency through attacks on its handling of the crisis, which was sparked by a new coronavirus that emerged in China in late 2019 and has killed 4.9 million.

While the Trump administration accused Tedros of being “China-centric”, charges he rejected, relations warmed with the Biden administration, especially after Tedros publicly said that further investigations were needed into the origins of the virus, including audits of China’s laboratories, diplomats said.

But he has been shunned by Ethiopia due to friction over the Tigray conflict, making it necessary for other countries to step into the breach and submit his name for a second five-year term.

“He is not unscathed, but broadly the international community feels it is really important to get behind him,” a senior diplomat from a non-EU country told Reuters.

However, under the WHO process, envelopes are to remain sealed until after October 29, meaning it cannot be ruled out that a country might nominate another candidate. This is designed to limit campaigning too early.