Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has an impressive track record in Ethiopia.
On May 22, member state will choose among three candidates — all of whom have pledged deep changes to the organization — vying for the post of WHO director general.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 52, Ethiopia’s health minister from 2005 to 2012 and foreign minister until 2016, is a strong candidate for the post, backed by the African Union as well as countries in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
He has an impressive track record in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian government is fighting the outbreak of Ebola in western Africa .
The Health Ministry sent 1,200 health professionals, including 500 nurses and 68 doctors, to affected areas this year and set up 100 treatment centers.
“I was born in Africa, I was brought up in Africa, and I have seen firsthand how actually, the scourge of diseases — it has affected communities, my own village and also communities, and even myself as a victim,” Docter Tedros said .
“In the WHO response to Ebola, perhaps the most important global health norm is to accurately and rapidly detect, report and respond to disease outbreaks,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.