JOINTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
WHO Member States elected Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for a five-year term at the Seventieth World Health Assembly in May 2017; he was re-elected to a second term in May 2022, during the Seventy-Fifth World Health Assembly. Dr Tedros is the first person from the WHO African Region to head the agency.
Born in 1965 in the city of Asmara – then part of Ethiopia, now Eritrea – Dr Tedros graduated from the University of Asmara with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, before earning a Master of Science degree (MSC) in Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the University of London, and a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Community Health from the University of Nottingham. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
After his studies, Dr Tedros returned to Ethiopia, first working as a field-level malariologist , before heading a regional health service, before entering politics.
As Minister of Health from 2005 to 2012, he led a comprehensive reform of Ethiopia’s health system, built on the foundation of universal health coverage and provision of services to all people, even in the most remote areas.
Under his leadership, Ethiopia expanded its health infrastructure, developed innovative health financing mechanisms, and expanded its health workforce. A major component of the reforms was the creation of a primary health care extension programme, which deployed 40 000 female health workers throughout Ethiopia. This programme resulted in a 60% reduction in child and maternal mortality compared with levels in 2000.
As Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2016, he elevated health as a political issue nationally, regionally ,and globally. In this role, he led the negotiations of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, in which 193 countries committed to the financing necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Tedros has held many leadership positions in global health, including as Chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and Co-chair of the Board of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
After taking office as WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros initiated the most significant transformation in the Organization’s history, with the aim of making WHO a more data-driven, impact-focused organization in three key areas: promoting health, by addressing the social, environmental, commercial and economic determinants of ill-health; providing health by supporting countries to progress towards universal health coverage, based on primary health care; and protecting health by strengthening national, regional and global capacities to prepare for, prevent and respond to health emergencies. During his tenure, Dr Tedros has guided WHO’s response to multiple health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic.