The World Health Organization's (WHO) New Champion For Inclusive Global Health Priorities

WHO has a new Director General and this is big news for various reasons. First, this is WHO's first African leader. This is also the first time that the WHO assembly voted for this role. From the number of votes cast in his favor, it's quite clear that the entire Global South voted for him. His landslide victory comes just in time and is a clear reaction to the recent sentiments on the WHO as an organization that has been ineffective in dealing with challenges in low- and middle-income countries. 

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus has his work cut out for him. He is taking over an organization that is significantly underfunded—increasingly having to rely on private donors as richer wealthier states cut their funding to it. He who pays the piper calls the tune. As such, WHO is also constrained by donor priorities given its heavy reliance on a few large donors. As non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart attacks and strokes) have grown to become the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, funding for them has also decreased. Conflicts of interests, especially among wealthier states, has also led to opposition against some WHO proposals to address the rise of non-communicable diseases. As an example, there has been opposition against putting in place food regulations to address the unhealthy foods getting to developing countries as these affect the business interests of prominent investors in those countries. 

Having spearheaded major reforms in Ethiopia as the country's former Minister of Health, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus is well equipped to deal with the challenge of strengthening health systems in low- and middle-income countries. The recent Zika breakouts in Brazil and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014 revealed weaknesses both at WHO and at the national level. 

This article expounds on all the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for WHO with this power shift.