GENEVA: A fifth candidate has entered the race to lead the World Health Organization, the agency’s website showed after the nomination deadline closed overnight.
Applicants from five countries have submitted their nominations to succeed Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as WHO Director‑General.
The candidates are: Qatar’s Hanan Mohammed Al‑Kuwari, Saudi Arabia’s Hanan Balkhy, Belgium’s Hans Kluge, Spain’s Maria Neira, and Indonesia’s Budi Gunadi Sadikin.
Al‑Kuwari is a former health minister; Balkhy is a physician who heads the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean office; Kluge is a physician and WHO’s regional director for Europe; Neira is a physician, epidemiologist and former WHO director; Sadikin is Indonesia’s current health minister.
A candidates’ forum will be held in November, and WHO’s Executive Board will shortlist up to three contenders in January 2027.
Tedros has headed the global health agency since 2017, guiding it through the COVID‑19 pandemic as well as outbreaks of Ebola and mpox.
During his tenure, the United States – then the top donor – announced its intention to withdraw in 2025, with President Donald Trump alleging that the WHO mishandled the COVID‑19 response, a claim the organization denies.
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