China Backs Dr Song Li for WHO Chief After US Exit

Beijing (GNP): China has nominated Dr Song Li to lead the World Health Organization (WHO), putting forward a candidate for the top job on Thursday. The move comes after the United States (US) quit the global health body this year, and it could strengthen Beijing’s influence over the organisation.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced the nomination. She said it shows China’s firm support for multilateralism and will help the WHO play a more active role in improving the health and well-being of all humanity.

Song is a senior public health official. She serves as director-general of the Department of Women and Children’s Health at China’s National Health Commission.

Her work during the pandemic is part of that profile. In 2020 she served as editor-in-chief of China’s national guidelines for managing maternal and child health.

If elected in the 2027 selection process, Song would succeed the current Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. She would also become the second Chinese national to head the WHO, after Margaret Chan, who led the organisation from 2006 to 2017.

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She will not enter an empty field. Six other contenders from Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Qatar, Botswana, Indonesia and Spain have already declared their candidacies publicly.

The final picture will take time to emerge. The WHO has kept the definitive list of candidates confidential until regional committee meetings conclude in early November.

Song’s nomination is also expected to face scrutiny. Diplomatic tensions over transparency during the COVID-19 pandemic continue, and they are likely to shape how her candidacy is received.

Mao Ning said, “It demonstrates China’s firm support for multilateralism.”