WHO chief to be confirmed for 2nd term after no opposition
ABC News
World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is expected to be confirmed by the U.N. health agency’s member countries for a second five-year term
LONDON -- WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is expected to be confirmed by the U.N. health agency’s member countries for a second five-year term on Tuesday.
No other candidate challenged Tedros for the post amid the ongoing difficulties of responding to the devastating coronavirus pandemic.
Tedros, a former government minister from Ethiopia, has directed the World Health Organization throughout its management of the global response to COVID-19 and withstood occasionally withering criticism over its multiple missteps. He is the first African to lead the agency and the only director-general not qualified as a medical doctor.
Under Tedros, the U.N. health agency failed to call out countries including China for blunders that WHO officials grumbled about privately, advised against mask-wearing for months, and said initially that the coronavirus wasn't likely to mutate rapidly. Scientists drafted by WHO to investigate the coronavirus’ origins in China said the critical probe was “ stalled ” last year, after issuing a report that even Tedros acknowledged had prematurely ruled out the possibility of a laboratory leak.
