GENEVA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) --
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday nominated Dr Margaret Chan,
former health chief of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as its
next director-general.
The nomination came after four rounds of secret
balloting by the UN agency's 34-nation Executive Board, during which four other
heavyweight competitors were eliminated.
Chan, 59, joined the WHO in 2003 and has since been
the agency's top official for pandemic influenza, as well as the assistant
director-general for communicable diseases.
Her challengers in the race included Shigero Omi, a
Japanese who heads WHO's operations in the Western Pacific region, Mexico's
Health Minister Julio Frenk, Kazem Behbehani, a senior WHO official from Kuwait,
and Spanish Health Minister Elena Salgado Mendez.
The five finalists were selected from an original
list of 11 candidates, who had been recommended by their respective governments
to head the U.N. agency following the sudden death of former WHO
Director-General Dr Lee Jong-wook in May.
"I'm deeply honored by your confidence," Chan told
the Executive Board after its members finally nominated her as the new WHO
chief, adding that she felt a "deep responsibility."
Chan had been leading in all the four rounds of
balloting. Japan's Omi, seen as Chan's most powerful rival, was eliminated in
the third round.
Chan finally got 24 ballots in the last round,
defeating the only remaining rival, Mexico's Frenk, who received 10 ballots.
"You can be sure that I will work tirelessly and I
will open my ears to all to listen to all voices," Chan told the Executive Board
after the voting.
According to WHO election procedures, Chan's
nomination has to be approved by the decision-making World Health Assembly,
which will meet on Thursday and will be attended by all 193 WHO member states.
Chan said that if her nomination was confirmed on
Thursday, she would carry forward the legacy of former WHO Director-General Lee
Jong-wook, who died suddenly in May, and his predecessors.
"I have the commitment, the passion and ability to
serve this organization, and I have the determination to achieve results for
health," Chan said.
Chan also expressed hope to cooperate with her rivals
in the race, as quite a few of them were her colleagues in the WHO. "I'm looking
forward to cooperating to make the world a healthy place."
Chan, as Hong Kong's top health official from 1994 to
2003, dealt with the first fatal outbreak of bird flu among humans in the region
and handled the fight against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
As a senior WHO official since 2003, Chan also
unveiled a series of initiatives to revitalize the agency, saying she would
focus on helping countries combat diseases, including a possible bird flu
pandemic.
She also pledged to reduce child mortality and combat
Aids in developing countries if she were elected to succeed Dr Lee Jong-wook, of
South Korea.
"My confidence is in the WHO. Working for the WHO in
the past three years has allowed me to realize my vision, to apply my public
health experience on a global scale to serve the world's interests," Chan said
in the campaigning period ahead of the election.
Straightforward and outspoken, Chan also said that
she would not give China any favorable treatment if elected as the WHO chief,
despite her Chinese nationality and full backing by China in her bid.
"If elected, I'm not serving Hong Kong's interests
and I am not serving China's interests, I'm serving the world's interests.
That's a very important message; that's very clear," Chan said.
"Now, I'm running this campaign as a Chinese
national. If elected, once you are appointed, you need to leave behind your
nationality, so to speak, because you are serving the world."
The WHO is the U.N.'s specialized agency for health.
It was established in 1948 with the objective of helping all peoples attain the
highest possible level of health.
The agency has been attracting more and more
attention in recent years because of its leading role in the global struggle
against challenges such as a threatened flu pandemic, Aids, medically-resistant
diseases or rising chronic illnesses and dilapidated healthcare in poor
countries.
