In the face of dwindling health budgets, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) expert committee on immunisation has made several suggestions to enable countries to optimise existing vaccine supplies. Countries can continue giving a single dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to girls aged 9-14 years to prevent cervical cancer – instead of two doses, […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN – A new $100 million initiative to halve stillbirth rates across select countries over the next decade launched at the World Health Summit on Monday (12 October). Backed equally by the Gates Foundation and Wellcome Leap, a spin-off of the UK-based Wellcome Trust, the effort will test and deploy a package of diagnostic technologies […] Continue reading ->
BERLIN – The WHO Director-General election process ignited its first public candidate conversation on Sunday (11 October) at the 2026 World Health Summit in Berlin, as four of the race’s seven declared contenders tackled the thorny question of how to make global health institutions more responsive and fit for purpose. The opening day’s flagship event […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Assembly chooses a new chief for the World Health Organization in May 2027. Before judging the candidates, assess the predecessors. Eight people have held the post over 78 years. Their varied track record offers pointers for selecting the future incumbent. Every five years, WHO rediscovers that its Director-Generalship is a political office […] Continue reading ->
More sexual misconduct and abusive claims were filed against WHO staff than closed over the previous month – with 361 open cases in 2026, as of the beginning of September, according to the agency’s own investigations dashboard. In August, the last month reported, investigators opened 37 new sexual and abusive conduct cases and closed 25, […] Continue reading ->
Beijing confirmed the nomination of National Health Commission official Dr Song Li for WHO Director-General on Thursday (8 October). The move expands the candidate field to seven amidst severe geopolitical ruptures shaking up the agency, with experts warning this move could further heighten superpower tensions. In announcing the bid, Chinese officials framed the candidacy around […] Continue reading ->
I sought to lead the World Health Organization (WHO) because the rules of intelligence are becoming the rules of health. My name will not be on the ballot. The responsibility remains. I will now work to organise the political and economic power needed to put intelligence at the service of humanity – and to keep […] Continue reading ->
China has nominated a prominent Chinese health official for WHO Director General in the 2027 elections, multiple diplomatic sources have confirmed to Health Policy Watch. But there are mixed reports about who that candidate actually may be. Some high-level sources have cited Song Li, a senior Chinese Communist Party official who mounted a failed bid […] Continue reading ->
Global health has moved from an area of mutual cooperation to one dominated by “high politics” and division, observed Ilona Kickbusch at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) last Friday (2 October). Leading the closing panel, the founder of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, highlighted how recent voting at the […] Continue reading ->
The shortlist of five finalists to serve as the next Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was published on Wednesday (30 September), launching the final phase of its leadership search. By narrowing the global applicant field to five candidates, the Global Fund’s Executive Director Nomination Committee (EDNC) has taken […] Continue reading ->