7 candidates nominated to lead World Health Organization

Seven candidates have been nominated by member states to become the next director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN health agency announced Thursday.

The nominees include Qatar's Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari, a former health minister and current adviser to the prime minister on public health; Saudi Arabia's Hanan Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean; and Belgium's Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe.

Also nominated are Spain's Maria P. Neira, a former director of WHO's environment and health department; Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin; and China's Li Song, secretary of the All-China Women's Federation and former senior health official.

The seventh candidate is Armenian pediatric oncologist Gevorg Tamamyan, a professor and department chair at Yerevan State Medical University, who was nominated by Botswana.

They will participate in a public forum at the organization's headquarters in Geneva on Nov. 18-19, allowing member states to engage directly with them.

The WHO Executive Board will narrow the field to five candidates in early 2027 before conducting interviews and nominating up to three for consideration by the World Health Assembly.

A second public forum will be held March 15, 2027, for those shortlisted.

The assembly is scheduled to appoint the next director-general in May, with the successful candidate taking office Aug. 16, 2027.