The World Health Organization’s regional office for Africa found itself in an unprecedented and tragic situation last November. Three months after Tanzanian politician Dr. Faustine Ndugulile won the election to become the new regional director, he unexpectedly died while receiving medical treatment in India.
Ndugulile was slated to replace Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, who led the regional office for 10 years, in February. After his death, in the interim, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appointed Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu to serve as the organization’s acting regional director.
Instead of having an election with the previous set of candidates, WHO held a meeting in January to decide the next move. It then put out a new call for African governments to put forward candidates — and only one candidate carried over from the last batch: Niger’s Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
