Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the first African to head the WHO, was re-elected on Tuesday, tearfully accepting a second term as he recalled his humble upbringing as “a child of war” and pleading for peace.
His re-election was announced at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, after he received more than two-thirds of secret-ballot votes cast, as needed to be appointed.
The WHO did not provide a breakdown, but sources in the room said that he had received 155 of the 160 votes cast.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I am really, really overwhelmed by the support,” Tedros told the WHA. “I am really proud to be WHO.”
The former Ethiopian minister of health and of foreign affairs has become a familiar face worldwide as he spearheads the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 57-year-old malaria expert has also increasingly been sounding the alarm over the heavy toll that conflicts such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are taking on global health.
After accepting his re-election, Tedros made an impassioned and personal plea for peace.
He said that he himself had been “a child of war ... from a poor family.”
He recalled experiencing conflict at a young age and also losing his younger brother to disease.
“That I was spared was just pure luck. It could have been me, I could have died more than 50 years ago,” he said, describing how the strong emotions from that time rushed back during a visit to Ukraine.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across