China nominates health official Song Li to lead WHO

China has nominated health official Song Li to lead the World Health Organization, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday, as Beijing seeks to expand its presence in international governing bodies.

The World Health Assembly is set to elect the next WHO head in May. That person will succeed Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is finishing his second five-year term and is barred from running again under WHO rules.

“China’s nomination of Dr. Song Li to run for the position reflects China’s willingness to work with all parties to jointly promote the building of a community of health for all humanity, and demonstrates China’s firm support for multilateralism and the WHO,” spokesperson Mao Ning said.

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Song is a senior public health official who has played an active role in crises including the COVID-19 pandemic and SARS. Her areas of expertise include maternal and child healthcare policies and international cooperation, according to an official biography.

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China has been seeking greater roles in United Nations institutions in recent years, just as the U.S. under President Donald Trump has pulled out of dozens of international and U.N. bodies.

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Chinese nationals have led as many as four U.N. organizations simultaneously, but currently head only one. Qu Dongyu of China heads the Food and Agriculture Organization, based in Rome.

Other candidates for the WHO head position who have been officially announced include Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari of Qatar; Dr. Hanan Balkhy of Saudi Arabia; Dr. Hans Kluge of Belgium; Dr. María Neira of Spain; Indonesian candidate Budi Gunadi Sadikin; and Dr. Gevorg Tamamyan of Botswana.

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The deadline for candidacies was Sept. 24, but countries can take time to publicly announce their hopefuls.

The WHO’s executive board, which meets in late January and early February, will winnow down the list to three candidates for consideration by member countries at the World Health Assembly in May, when the next director-general will be elected.