Meet WHO’s Next Leader

This year, the World Health Assembly in Geneva faces a critical task: Selecting Margaret Chan's successor as director-general of the WHO. 3 finalists are vying for the role: Tedros Adhanom, of Ethiopia, a former health and foreign affairs minister; David Nabarro, of Britain, special adviser to the UN secretary general on sustainable development and climate change; and Sania Nishtar, of Pakistan, a former health minister with extensive civil society experience. GHN reached out to all 3 for 4-part Q&As, giving each the chance to make their case for why they think they have what the job takes, explain how they respond to their critics, and describe their vision for the WHO's future.

The Changemaker: WHO DG Candidate Sania Nishtar
The next WHO Director-General needs be a changemaker, a campaigner who can meet with heads of state on critical health issues and persuade them to “get it done,” says Sania Nishtar, one of 3 finalists in the running to lead the organization.

A Life in Global Health: WHO DG Candidate David Nabarro
In this 4-part Q&A with GHN, Nabarro makes the case for his candidacy, discusses what his priorities would be as DG, the changes he would bring to the organization, and the lessons he learned by leading the advisory group on reforming WHO’s outbreak and emergency response efforts.

A Fresh Perspective: Q&A with WHO Director-General Candidate Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
In his GHN Q&A, Tedros discusses his background, the greatest global health threats, the changes that he will bring to WHO, the idea that the next DG should be from a low- or middle-income country, as well as his country’s record on human rights.

Ed. Note: See all of GHN’s #WHA70 coverage here.

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