Ethiopia’s Tedros re-elected to lead WHO for a second term

Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was re-elected Tuesday for a five-year term as chairman of the World Health Organization.

The director-general received more than two-thirds of the votes cast by secret ballot, with 155 votes for him out of 160 votes cast . Tedros was the only candidate.

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“I feel humbled and honored to have been elected for a second term as WHO Director-General,” said he tweeted.

< p>“I am deeply grateful for the trust and confidence shown by member states. Thank you to all health workers and my WHO colleagues around the world. I look forward to continuing our journey together.”

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Tedros , a former Ethiopian health minister and foreign minister is the first African to head the WHO. He was first elected Director-General of WHO on May 23, 2017.

Ahead of the general election, Tedros gained global support to lead WHO for a second term after championing the global fight against the Covid -19 pandemic had set in. 19 pandemic.

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Last year, when the deadline for nominations was closed Germany officially nominated Tedros and sought support from other European Union member states.

Later, at least 17 EU members, supported by countries in other regions, officially nominated Tedros for his re-election.

African Countries, with the exception of his native Ethiopia, have largely backed Tedros, who has been campaigning for more access to Covid-19 vaccines to Africa Chief considers mandatory Covid vaccination

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Last September, the Director-General called for vacc justice worldwide.

“More than 5.7 billion doses have been administered worldwide, but only 2% of that was administered in Africa,” Tedros said on an interview he press conference on September 14, 2021.

“This not only harms the people in Africa; it hurts us all. The longer vaccine inequality persists, the more the virus will circulate and change, the longer the social and economic disruptions will last, and the greater the likelihood that more variants will emerge that make vaccines less effective,” he added /p>