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.