|
GENEVA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization
(WHO) on Thursday formally approved China's Dr. Margaret Chan as its new chief,
to succeed Dr. Lee Jong-wook of South Korea who died suddenly in May.
 |
|
Newly elected UN World Health Organisation (WHO)
Director-General Margaret Chan of China gives a speech in Geneva of
Switzerland, Nov. 9, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery
>>> |
 |
|
Newly elected UN World Health Organisation (WHO)
Director-General Margaret Chan of China is sworn in in Geneva of
Switzerland, Nov. 9, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery
>>> |
The WHO's top decision-making World Health Assembly,
composed of all 193 member states, agreed by voting that Dr. Chan will be the
next director-general, confirming a nomination a day earlier by the 34-nation
governing Executive Board.
At a special session of the Assembly, 150 member
countries voted in favor of Chan, with 2 against and 2 abstentions. Other member
countries did not vote for various reasons, diplomatic sources said.
A new director-general nominee needs a two-thirds
majority of real votes to get the Assembly approval for the post.
Chan, 59, will take office in January 2007 for a
five-year term. The UN agency has been led by Acting Director-General Dr. Anders
Nordstrom of Sweden since May.
Chan is the first Chinese national that has been
elected to head a UN specialized body.
The former Hong Kong health chief joined the WHO in
2003, and she had been the UN agency's assistant director-general for
communicable diseases before announcing to campaign for the top post of
director-general in July.
Her bid for the job had been fully supported by the
Chinese central government as well as the government of Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, without which she could not have won the election, Chan
told reporters following her nomination on Wednesday.
The Chinese government said it had recommended Chan
to head the WHO because of her solid professional background, strong leadership,
and tremendous experience in public health.
Chan had overcome Mexico's Health Minister Julio
Frenk, WHO senior official Shigeru Omi of Japan, Spain's Health Minister Elena
Salgado and another WHO official, Kuwait's Kazem Behbehani, to win the Executive
Board nomination.
Six other candidates from different regions were
eliminated in initial voting by the 34-nation governing body.
The WHO was established in 1948 with the objective of
helping all peoples attain the highest possible level of health.
The profile of the organization has risen
dramatically in recent years as the world struggles to deal with such health
challenges as a threatened flu pandemic, AIDS, chronic illnesses and dilapidated
healthcare in poor countries.
 |
|
China's Minister of Health Gao Qiang (L) gives a
speech after Margaret Chan of China was elected as UN World Health
Organisation (WHO) Director-General in Geneva of Switzerland, Nov. 9,
2006. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery
>>> |
 |
|
Newly elected UN World Health Organisation (WHO)
Director-General Margaret Chan (L) and China's Minister
of Health Gao Qiang (R)(Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery
>>> |
Int'l community welcomes incoming WHO director-general
BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The international community on Thursday welcomed the election of Margaret Chan as the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO).
French President Jacques Chirac extended congratulations on Thursday to the election of Chan as the next WHO chief.
Chan has devoted herself to the advancement of health, the fight against such epidemic diseases as SARS and bird flu, Chirac said in his message of congratulations.
New WHO chief says to focus on Africa, women
GENEVA,
Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Margaret Chan, the World Health Organization (WHO)'s
newly-elected chief, said on Thursday that the UN agency's future work should
focus on the health of Africans and women.
"The people of Africa carry an enormous and
disproportionate burden of ill health and premature death," Chan said.
"The health of African people must therefore be a key
indicator of the performance of WHO," she said in a speech to the top
decision-making World Health Assembly that had just approved her as the new
chief.
Chan added that the health of women must be the other
indicator of the organization's work.
"I do not mean just maternal health. Women do much
more than have babies," she said.
"Their activities in households and communities,
coupled with their low status, make them especially vulnerable to health
problems - from indoor air pollution and multiple infectious diseases to
violence," she told the Assembly meeting.
"Reducing health problems in women and empowering
them will result in a dramatic increase in health-promoting behaviors - right
where it counts most," she stressed.
Chan also mentioned other challenges of world health,
including infectious diseases, pandemic preparedness, etc..
Chan, from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region, will take office in January 2007 for a five-year term. She is the first
Chinese national that has been elected to head a UN specialized body.
Chirac congratulates incoming WHO
director-general
PARIS, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- French President Jacques Chirac
congratulated on Thursday the election of Margaret Chan as the next
director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Chan has devoted herself to the advancement of health, the fight against such epidemic diseases as SARS and
bird flu, Chirac said in his letter of congratulation. Full Story>>
Chinese government congratulates Margaret Chan confirmed as new
WHO chief
BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese government on
Thursday congratulates Margaret Chan confirmed as new chief of the World Health
Organization (WHO).
It is the first time Chinese national has been elected to head a specialized U.N. body, Jiang Yu, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said.
The Chinese government fully supports Margaret Chan
as the director-general of the WHO, Jiang said, noting that governments of Hong
Kong and Macao special administrative regions also actively supported. Full Story>>
WHO
opens special session to confirm Margaret Chan as new chief
GENEVA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Assembly of
the World Health Organization (WHO) opened a special session on Thursday, during
which China's Margaret Chan will be formally approved as the organization's next
director-general.
The special session of the UN agency's top
decision-making body kicked off at the Palace of Nations in Geneva, also known
as the UN headquarters in Europe. Full Story>>
|
