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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)
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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.
Singapore warmly welcomed Chan's election. Its
foreign ministry said in a statement issued on Thursday that it has pledged its
strong support to work towards strengthening the WHO to tackle the challenges
ahead.
The ministry added that Chan is no strange to
Singapore, as she undertook her postgraduate training at the National University
of Singapore.
According to the ministry, Senior Minister of State
for Foreign Affairs Balaji Sadasivan, Singapore's representative to the WHO
executive board also delivered a statement shortly after Chan's election
expressing confidence in her ability to lead the WHO.
A senior Kuwaiti official congratulated on Wednesday
the nomination of Chan.
Dharar Abdul-Razzak Razzooqi, head of the Kuwait
mission to the United Nations in Geneva, told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that
his country would support the work of Dr. Chan so that she could successfully
fulfill her mandate.
"Though Dr. Behbehani did not come out as a winner in
the final race, he had solicited the support of 28 countries out of 34 when the
short list was chosen on Monday," Razzooqi was quoted as saying.
Kazem Behbehani, a senior WHO official from Kuwait
and one of the five finalists to run for the nomination, was eliminated in an
earlier voting by the UN agency's decision-making body Executive Board.
The WHO on Wednesday nominated Chan, former health
chief of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as its next
director-general.
Chan's 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.
She was elected without opposition with 150 votes in
favor; well over the two-thirds majority needed at a special session of the
agency's governing World Health Assembly in Geneva Thursday.
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. She is expected to take office in
January for a five-year term.
Related:
China's Margaret Chan elected WHO
chief
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.
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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
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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. Full story>>
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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
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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
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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>>
