Re: Bird flu expert nominated to head WHO
Chan sets out goals for WHO
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Newly elected World Health Organization director-general Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun has pledged to give top priority to the health of women and Africans.
//--> Chester Yung and agencies
Friday, November 10, 2006
Newly elected World Health Organization director-general Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun has pledged to give top priority to the health of women and Africans.The former director of health 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, which is made up of the United Nations agency's 193 member countries, at a closed-door meeting.
Chan is the first Chinese official to lead a major UN body. She replaces South Korea's Lee Jong Wook, who died suddenly on May 22, and will start her 5-year term on January 4.
In outlining her plans for world health, Chan said what matters most to her is people.
"I will work with you tirelessly to make this world a healthier place," Chan told the assembly.
She said she would focus on reducing the burden of diseases, improving health systems and other health issues but added that what she most cared about were women and Africans.
"I want us to be judged by the impact we have on the health of the people of Africa and the health of women," Chan said. "Improvements in the health of the people of Africa and the health of women must therefore be the key indicator of the performance of WHO."
She added: "Our work must touch on the lives of everyone, everywhere. But we must focus our attention on the people in greatest need."
Chan's election had earlier prompted calls for independence and transparency at the top of the global health agency, following concern about China's secrecy in tackling infectious diseases.
Her election may help to consolidate China's relationship with WHO, observers said.
A senior WHO official who requested anonymity told Agence France- Presse Chan's election could encourage Beijing to share medical samples and exchange information with others.
During her campaign, Chan said the agency must "collect timely and accurate information" to deal with health challenges, and she pledged to set up a global health observatory.
Chan was widely criticized in Hong Kong for a lack of transparency during the 2003 crisis surrounding the deadly SARS virus, which originated in southern China.
Three years ago, she joined the WHO, rising to assistant director- general in charge of communicable diseases. She also oversaw the agency's strategy against the growing threat of a new pandemic that could be triggered by new strains of avian influenza.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's top official in Hong Kong, Lu Xinhua, said Thursday Beijing did not use its influence to help Chan.
"We used our sincerity to ask the Third World and developed countries for support. We don't have any kind of political transactions," Lu said in a speech at Hong Kong University.
Chan's nomination came four days after China pledged to double its aid to Africa.
"Our assistance to African countries is a selfless contribution. We earned from our friends the genuine friendship there," Lu said.
President Hu Jintao pledged last Friday to double aid to Africa between this year and 2009.
Lu thanked all the countries that voted for Chan.
Last week, a WHO official in China warned the situation with bird flu there was "quite confusing" and tainted by "conflicting information."
Julie Hall, the agency's coordinator in China, said: "We really don't know how many strains of bird flu there are in China because we have limited amounts of information shared with us by the Ministry of Agriculture and the virus samples we have asked for have not been shared."
Meanwhile, China stressed Chan's election will not help Taiwan win membership of the UN agency
Taiwan was ejected from the WHO in 1972, a year after losing the China seat in the UN to Beijing.
"Our position is very clear, the WHO constitutes sovereign states and Taiwan, as part of China, has no right to participate in this organization," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in response to a question about whether there would be any change on the policy after Chan heads the WHO.
When Chan was preparing her election campaign in August, she was asked for her standpoint on the Taiwan issue. She said the issue has been discussed by the 193-member assembly and they all agreed on the principle of a "one-China policy."
In May, Taiwan denounced the mainland for thwarting its 10th consecutive bid to join the international health organization.
Taiwan said it should join the WHO, as it needed the cooperation of other countries to cope with bird flu and other possible epidemics in the region.
But Jiang said there were already established mechanisms through which Taiwanese health officials could participate in WHO affairs.
The WHO's China representative, Henk Bekedam, welcomed Chan's election, saying she has the right attitude for the job.
"If you deal with challenges in the world, it is important how you approach things. She [Chan] is approaching things with a smile." Bekedam said.
In Hong Kong, Acting Chief Executive Rafael Hui Si-yan said Chan's success is an "honor for the people in Hong Kong."
The election result, Hui said, demonstrated a "professional and international recognition" of Chan.
Chan gained 24 votes in the fourth and final round of voting Wednesday, against 10 for the last challenger, Mexico's Minister of Health Julio Frenk.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=31500&sid=10799187&con_type=1
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