Nepal to vote in support of Tedros as WHO Chief for second term

Nepal will support incumbent Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for a second term, the Health Minister of the Himalayan nation announced.

Briefing the media after a meeting with Dr Tedros at the Ministry in the capital Kathmandu, Nepal's Health Minister Birodh Khatiwada informed that Nepal would support the incumbent for a second term.

"For his second tenure we will support him. I also have extended best wishes to him for it," Minister Khatiwada told reporters. The World Health Assembly next month is set to vote on electing a new head or continuing with the incumbent.

Hours after arriving Himalayan nation, the Director-General of WHO started his engagement by holding bilateral talks with the Health Minister of Nepal. Apart from the vote, both the parties discussed other issues regarding providing medical assistance to Nepal, the Nepali Health Minister informed.

Minister Khatiwada thanked the WHO chief for providing various assistance to the Government of Nepal in addressing the health needs of the Nepali people.

He added Nepal needed cooperation from the WHO in the areas of quality control and access to medicines, advanced laboratories, regulatory capacity, human resource development, technology transfer and medical research and diagnosis, among others.

Minister Khatiwada also shared Nepal's plan to formulate an integrated national health financing strategy to increase the equal access of all to health services.

After holding a round of talks with the Health Minister, visiting head of the UN body, overseeing the global health sector called on the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka at the latter's office.

During the meeting, the Foreign Minister appreciated the leadership of WHO during the COVID pandemic and expressed thanks to the Director-General for his unfailing support to Nepal during the COVID crisis, including through vaccine support, a release from the foreign ministry stated.

"The Foreign Minister also thanked the Director-General for decades of cooperation from WHO to Nepal in the prevention and control of diseases and provision of vaccines and technical assistance in critical areas of public health," the release stated.

Later, the WHO Director-General also called on Ganesh Prashad Timilsina, Chairperson of the National Assembly, later late in the afternoon. While appreciating the WHO's cooperation with Nepal in different areas of health sectors, Timilsina underlined the importance of WHO's continued support to Nepal during major health emergencies, including the COVID pandemic, the secretariat of the Chairman of the National Assembly informed.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), arrived in Kathmandu this afternoon on an official visit. He was received at the airport by Dr Roshan Pokhrel, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Population along with other senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and Health and Population.

Dr Tedros is accompanied by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Regional Office, and other officials of WHO.