World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has asked his deputy to delay her retirement, while naming several officials to temporarily fill in the roles left by departing senior management.
In an email sent to staff and seen by Devex, Tedros requested Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab to continue as his deputy director-general and officer in charge of the regional office for Western Pacific “for some more time.”
Jakab has been serving in the post since 2019, and is past the retirement age for serving officials. She has been expected to retire. However, she has been in charge of the Western Pacific regional office since August, when Dr. Takeshi Kasai was put on leave after complaints of bullying and racism by several of his staff.
Meanwhile, Tedros has announced who will be filling in vacant posts in his senior management team in the ad interim. According to some sources, it may take a few months to find permanent candidates for some of the positions.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, his special adviser and who has led the implementation of WHO’s transformation agenda since 2017, will temporarily be leading the Division of External Relations and Governance previously led by Jane Ellison.
Dr. María Neira, who leads the Department of Climate Change and Health, will lead the Division of Universal Health Coverage/Healthier Populations previously led by Dr. Naoko Yamamoto.
Dr. Hanan Balkhy, who is the assistant director-general on antimicrobial resistance, will take over the Division of Access to Medicines and Health Products following the departure of Dr. Mariângela Batista Galvão Simão.
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Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, who leads WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Program, will lead the Division of Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases previously led by Dr. Ren Minghui.
Dr. John Reeder, who is the director of the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, will be acting in the role left by Dr. Soumya Swaminathan under the Science Division.
Tedros has not announced any official to serve in ad interim for the position previously held by Dr. Jaouad Mahjour, who served as assistant director-general for emergency preparedness and international health regulations. Instead, directors of that division will be reporting to Dr. Mike Ryan, who is executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme.
The directors under the Division of Emergency Response will also be reporting to Ryan. Dr. Ibrahima Socé Fall, who is the assistant director-general for emergency response, declined to comment as to why, but he told Devex he’s not leaving WHO and that he will be doing something he’s “passionate about.”
No announcements were made on who will be replacing Dr. Princess Nothemba Simelela, assistant director-general and special adviser to the director-general on strategic priorities.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anshu Banerjee, who is currently director of the Department of Maternal, New born, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, will serve for the meantime as lead of the Division of Universal Health Coverage/Life Course. Dr. Jakab previously led the division ad interim.
Prof. Lawrence Gostin, founding O'Neill chair in global health law and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Global Health Law, told Devex via email that the changes at WHO didn’t surprise him.
“I read Tedros' management changes as introducing new leadership that will be more creative and dynamic, and also more aligned with the DG's vision of the future of WHO,” he said.
“Member states felt that the leadership was too large and cumbersome, and Dr. Tedros' shakeup reflects that strategy,” Gostin added.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
