BREAKING: Germany Declines To Nominate Candidate For Upcoming WHO Director-General Election - Health Policy Watch The German government will not put forward a candidate for the upcoming WHO Director-General election (Federal Chancellery in Berlin). Germany has declined to put forward a candidate fo…
BREAKING: Germany Declines To Nominate Candidate For Upcoming WHO Director-General Election - Health Policy Watch
The German government will not put forward a candidate for the upcoming WHO Director-General election (Federal Chancellery in Berlin). Germany has declined to put forward a candidate for the election of the next WHO Director-General. With Spain also reportedly ruling out a bid, the global field of candidates has only four official nominees just a few weeks before the deadline. Germany will not nominate a candidate for the post of WHO Director-General, Health Policy Watch has learned from the Federal Foreign Office. The move comes as a surprise, given that Germany has become the largest state contributor to the WHO following the withdrawal of the United States. Leading German health policymakers had called for the Federal Republic to play a stronger role on the global stage.
According to informed sources, Spain is also ruling out a candidacy. Earlier, speculation over a Spanish candidacy for Maria Neira, the former WHO Director for Environment, Climate Change and Health, arose after she called for a strong candidate in a LinkedIn post. She wrote that the WHO does not need a mere "personality to manage," but a "scientifically fearless" leader brave enough to say "what the evidence demands." To date, Paris has also remained silent, even though France could theoretically field three high-profile candidates.
The field is slowly taking shape ahead of the 24 September deadline, with four listed "prospective candidates" on the WHO website.
BREAKING: Germany Declines To Nominate Candidate For Upcoming WHO Director-General Election - Health Policy Watch
It remains unclear for now which of the nominees the Federal Republic of Germany will support in the upcoming election. Both the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Health declined to comment further.
The decision not to nominate a candidate comes after the German government recently announced plans to further cut funding to global health under its tightly constrained draft budget proposal for 2027. While mandatory assessed contributions to the WHO will rise slightly, flexible budgets for pandemic preparedness are planned to be cut by 15.3%. How Germany will use its leverage in the upcoming elections remains to be seen in the coming months.
