Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Race to fill WHO top job begins in earnest
By HELEN BRANSWELL
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2006/09/04/1801108-cp.html
By HELEN BRANSWELL
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2006/09/04/1801108-cp.html
(CP) - The race to replace the director general of the World Health Organization begins in earnest this week with nominations closing Tuesday and a public announcement Wednesday of the candidates seeking the job.
But in reality, for weeks now a dozen or so declared and undeclared candidates have been criss-crossing the globe, seeking promises of support.
Critics contend the system of selecting the global health agency's head lacks transparency, opening the door to a situation where the trading of political favours - rather than the merits of the candidates and the needs of the WHO - could carry the day.
"I think everybody is aware that the system is open to huge corruption at the moment," Dr. Richard Horton, editor of the medical journal The Lancet, said in an interview Monday.
"It's pretty clear to me that there are some candidates who really shouldn't have an opportunity to get the WHO DG (director general) job, but they will be strong candidates because of their governments and what their governments can do for them.
"In the modern world this is no way to run a massive organization. The candidates should be evaluated on the basis of their achievements and their vision. And that should be done in a way that is maximally transparent," Horton said from Barcelona, Spain.
Horton suggested open balloting by members of the WHO's executive board would go a long way to shifting the emphasis away from political horse-trading and onto a debate about which candidate is best equipped to serve as the world's public health ambassador.
"There should not be secret ballots. Every member of the executive board who votes, it should be public knowledge who they have voted for."
The executive board is the body charged with nominating a single candidate who will be ratified by the World Health Assembly in a special meeting on Nov. 9. It will winnow down the candidates through a series of secret ballots in meetings slated for Nov. 6-8.
The sudden death in May of former director general Dr. Lee Jong-wook necessitated the search for a new WHO chief.
Candidates are nominated by their home countries, which have until end of day Tuesday (Geneva time) to submit a name. The list will be announced Wednesday and could include some candidates who have chosen to fly under the radar in this pre-campaign stage.
Declared candidates include Dr. Margaret Chan (China), WHO's assistant director general for communicable diseases and a graduate of the University of Western Ontario's medical school; Dr. Shigeru Omi (Japan), head of WHO's Western Pacific regional office; and Mexican Health Minister Dr. Julio Frenk, who also served as a WHO executive director under former director general Gro Harlem Brundtland.
Other include: Ecuadorian President Alfredo Palacio; Spain's Health Minister Elena Salgado, Dr. Kazem Behbehani (Kuwait), WHO's assistant director general external relations and governing bodies; David Gunnarsson, permanent secretary of Iceland's health and social security ministry and a former executive board member; Dr. Pekka Puska (Finland), a former WHO official and current director general of the Finnish National Public Health Institute; and Dr. Tomris Turmen (Turkey), a former executive director for family and community heath at the WHO.
WHO officials in the race have to step aside from their posts while running.
Candidates are vying for the votes of the 34 members of the WHO executive board, a body made up of countries representing one of six regions: the Americas, Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Pacific. Seats on the executive board are rotated among the countries in each regional grouping.
Canada is not expected to name a candidate and is not currently on the executive board. But Canada and other countries not on the board can still hold significant sway in the process, Horton said, if they choose to actively campaign for a candidate.
On that issue, the federal government is currently holding its cards close to the chest.
"We . . . have a strong interest in seeing that the best candidate is selected for this important post," Erik Waddell, press secretary for Health Minister Tony Clement, said in an e-mail exchange.
"Once all nominations are tabled, Canada will consider whether we might wish to endorse a candidate."
Horton pointed to Frenk and Omi as frontrunners - the former for the depth of his experience and the latter because of Japan's international clout.
Within the WHO itself, Chan - the highly personable former public health head from Hong Kong - is seen by some as a leading candidate.
Countries currently on the executive board are: Afghanistan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Denmark, Djibouti, El Salvador, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Thailand, Turkey and the United States.
But in reality, for weeks now a dozen or so declared and undeclared candidates have been criss-crossing the globe, seeking promises of support.
Critics contend the system of selecting the global health agency's head lacks transparency, opening the door to a situation where the trading of political favours - rather than the merits of the candidates and the needs of the WHO - could carry the day.
"I think everybody is aware that the system is open to huge corruption at the moment," Dr. Richard Horton, editor of the medical journal The Lancet, said in an interview Monday.
"It's pretty clear to me that there are some candidates who really shouldn't have an opportunity to get the WHO DG (director general) job, but they will be strong candidates because of their governments and what their governments can do for them.
"In the modern world this is no way to run a massive organization. The candidates should be evaluated on the basis of their achievements and their vision. And that should be done in a way that is maximally transparent," Horton said from Barcelona, Spain.
Horton suggested open balloting by members of the WHO's executive board would go a long way to shifting the emphasis away from political horse-trading and onto a debate about which candidate is best equipped to serve as the world's public health ambassador.
"There should not be secret ballots. Every member of the executive board who votes, it should be public knowledge who they have voted for."
The executive board is the body charged with nominating a single candidate who will be ratified by the World Health Assembly in a special meeting on Nov. 9. It will winnow down the candidates through a series of secret ballots in meetings slated for Nov. 6-8.
The sudden death in May of former director general Dr. Lee Jong-wook necessitated the search for a new WHO chief.
Candidates are nominated by their home countries, which have until end of day Tuesday (Geneva time) to submit a name. The list will be announced Wednesday and could include some candidates who have chosen to fly under the radar in this pre-campaign stage.
Declared candidates include Dr. Margaret Chan (China), WHO's assistant director general for communicable diseases and a graduate of the University of Western Ontario's medical school; Dr. Shigeru Omi (Japan), head of WHO's Western Pacific regional office; and Mexican Health Minister Dr. Julio Frenk, who also served as a WHO executive director under former director general Gro Harlem Brundtland.
Other include: Ecuadorian President Alfredo Palacio; Spain's Health Minister Elena Salgado, Dr. Kazem Behbehani (Kuwait), WHO's assistant director general external relations and governing bodies; David Gunnarsson, permanent secretary of Iceland's health and social security ministry and a former executive board member; Dr. Pekka Puska (Finland), a former WHO official and current director general of the Finnish National Public Health Institute; and Dr. Tomris Turmen (Turkey), a former executive director for family and community heath at the WHO.
WHO officials in the race have to step aside from their posts while running.
Candidates are vying for the votes of the 34 members of the WHO executive board, a body made up of countries representing one of six regions: the Americas, Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Pacific. Seats on the executive board are rotated among the countries in each regional grouping.
Canada is not expected to name a candidate and is not currently on the executive board. But Canada and other countries not on the board can still hold significant sway in the process, Horton said, if they choose to actively campaign for a candidate.
On that issue, the federal government is currently holding its cards close to the chest.
"We . . . have a strong interest in seeing that the best candidate is selected for this important post," Erik Waddell, press secretary for Health Minister Tony Clement, said in an e-mail exchange.
"Once all nominations are tabled, Canada will consider whether we might wish to endorse a candidate."
Horton pointed to Frenk and Omi as frontrunners - the former for the depth of his experience and the latter because of Japan's international clout.
Within the WHO itself, Chan - the highly personable former public health head from Hong Kong - is seen by some as a leading candidate.
Countries currently on the executive board are: Afghanistan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Denmark, Djibouti, El Salvador, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Thailand, Turkey and the United States.