The World health Organization Executive Board meeting closed on 26th, and the political wrestling among countries for the next Secretary General will be the focus of international public health attention in the coming year.
The 148th session of the World Health Organization Executive Committee closed on the 26th, the United States terminated its withdrawal from the WHO and appointed Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as head of the U.S. delegation to the WHO Executive Committee. In addition, as WHO Secretary-General Tan Desai will expire next year, the political tug-of-war between countries over the choice of the Secretary-General will be the focus of international public health attention in the coming year.
According to Taiwan‘s Central News Agency, the meeting, which has been held since the 18th, discussed dozens of topics including the response to the Chinese Communist virus (Covid-19, Wuhan pneumonia), WHO’s work in the field of health emergencies, strengthening WHO global emergency preparedness and response, WHO governance, budgetary and financial matters, and the WHO Secretary-General election process. Speaking on the 19th, Garrett Grigsby, Director of the Office of Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health, also mentioned Taiwan’s experience and contribution to the fight against the Epidemic, expressing support for Taiwan’s participation in WHO technical work as an observer.
The meeting coincided with the change of the old and new regimes in the United States, as newly elected President Joe Biden signed the termination of former President Trump‘s (Trump) withdrawal from the WHO program after taking office on the 20th, and assigned Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as head of the U.S. delegation to the WHO Executive Committee. Speaking at the WHO Executive Committee on the 21st, Fauci said the U.S. will restart cooperation between U.S. government personnel and the WHO and work with member states to further advance WHO reform.
In addition, the first term of Secretary General Tandusse, who was elected in 2017, will expire in 2022. Outside of epidemic prevention, the political tug-of-war between countries over the choice of the Secretary-General will be a major event in international public health in the coming year.
It is reported that, as Tan has repeatedly spoken in support of the Chinese Communist authorities and Communist leader Xi Jinping‘s handling of the epidemic in China at the beginning of the outbreak, he has said that he “does not advocate the evacuation of countries from China” and that “there is no practical benefit in using the word pandemic lightly”. The remarks were met by the U.S., Japan, and the United States. The comments were criticized by the United States, Japan, Brazil and Taiwan for being “China-centric” and “pro-China”, and former U.S. President Donald Trump even pointed out that the WHO is a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party. The current U.S. government and the European Union have expressed support for the WHO, but it remains to be seen whether they will support the re-election of Tan Desai.
According to the WHO preliminary schedule, the election process of the Secretary-General will be launched in April this year, Member States proposed candidates for the Secretary-General, the list of candidates will be published in October, and the first candidates forum will be held in November, after the Executive Committee Member States listened to the candidates’ vision statement, the final three candidates are expected to be nominated in the first quarter of 2022, after which the 194 Member States will vote for them at the 2022 WHO Annual Meeting. The final three candidates are expected to be nominated in the first quarter of 2022, followed by a vote by 194 Member States at the 2022 Annual Conference.
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