New WHO Director-General Chan Highlights Six Key Issues

By Anonymous

MARGARET Chan, MD, MPH, former director of health for Hong Kong, was confirmed as the new World Health Organization directorgeneral in November.

In her acceptance speech delivered at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Chan said she wants to be judged by “the impact we have on the health of the people of Africa and the health of women.”

“All regions, all countries, all people are equally important,” Chan said. “This is a health organization for the whole world. Our work must touch on the lives of everyone, everywhere. But we must focus our attention on the people in greatest need.”

Chan previously served as WHO’S assistant director-general for communicable diseases and as a representative of the director- general for pandemic influenza.

Chan pledged to work on six key issues as director-general: health development, security, capacity, information, partnership and performance. She emphasized the importance of global health security, the need for strong systems to deliver health care and the diverse ways needed to strengthen health and health care services in different parts of the world.

She also spoke of future health challenges.

“As we know, not all of the problems faced by WHO in its efforts to improve world health are subject to scientific scrutiny, or yield their secrets under a microscope,” Chan said. “You know the ones I mean: lack of resources and too little political commitment. These are often the true killers.”

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