Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), is one of the most frequently heard people due to the coronavirus pandemic. While Adhanom Ghebreyesus was accused of not managing the epidemic well, he was placed on the target board, while some politicians were asked to resign. However, Ghebreyesus was elected director again for the second term.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was appointed as the Director-General of WHO in 2017, was born in 1965 in Asmara, which was considered Ethiopia at that time and is now the capital of Eritrea.
Tedros Adhanom, the organization's first non-physician head of African descent, served as Minister of Health from 2005 to 2012 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2016 in the Ethiopian government before taking this post.
Ghebreyesus, who met with epidemic diseases in his childhood, lost his brother at the age of 3-4, most likely from measles.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who received a BA in Biology from Asmara University in 1986, completed his master's degree in Infectious Diseases Immunology from the University of London in 1992.
In 2000, he received his doctorate from the University of Nottingham in England with his thesis on the effects of dams on the transmission of malaria in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Ghebreyesus was appointed head of the Tigray Regional Health Office in 2001 and was rewarded with a significant reduction in AIDS and meningitis cases in the region during his term as bureau chief.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who became Ethiopian Deputy Minister of Health in 2003, was appointed Minister of Health in 2005.
Despite the difficulties faced by the Ministry of Health such as poverty and inadequate infrastructure, Ghebreyesus stood out as a name that made remarkable progress in the health indicators in the country with the steps he took and the work he did.
Dr. While he was the Minister of Health, Tedros established close relations with many important names and institutions, especially the former US President Bill Clinton and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Playing a very active role in global health initiatives, Dr. Tedros signed agreements between his country and many international health organizations.
With the help of the good relations he has established, the Ethiopian politician and academic was elected as the Chairman of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for two years in 2009.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, played an active role in the African Union's fight against the 2013-2016 West African Ebola virus outbreak. Dr. Tedros argued that the Ebola crisis presents an important opportunity to strengthen primary health care and to highlight the importance of health as a critical safety issue.
Tedros was named Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
World Health Organization
World Health Organization, WHO is an organization affiliated to the United Nations and conducting international studies on public health.
The United Nations Conference, convened in San Francisco, USA in 1945, recognized that the health of all peoples in this period is of fundamental importance for maintaining peace and security in the world. Then, the request of the Chinese and Brazilian delegates to hold a meeting with the aim of establishing an "International Health Organization" was accepted unanimously.
The Director-General serves for a period of 5 years. There is no term limitation. Nominees for Director-General can be proposed by member states, then nominated by the Governing Body and appointed by the World Health Assembly.