Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is an Ethiopian public health researcher, and official who has been Director-General of the World Health Organization since 2017.
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39 Facts About Tedros Adhanom
2.
Tedros Adhanom is the first African in the role, and was endorsed by the African Union.
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3.
Tedros Adhanom played a role in the response to the Ebola virus epidemic, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing 2022 monkeypox outbreak.
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4.
Tedros Adhanom was included in Times 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
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5.
Tedros Adhanom's family originated from the Enderta awrajja of Tigray.
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6.
Tedros Adhanom recalled that as a child he was very aware of the suffering and death caused by malaria.
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7.
In 1986, Tedros Adhanom received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Asmara.
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8.
In 1986, after his first degree, Tedros Adhanom joined the Ethiopian Ministry of Health as a junior public health expert.
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9.
Tedros Adhanom is a member of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the leading group in a coalition of movements known as the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front in a successful bid to overthrow Mengistu Haile Mariam.
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10.
In 2001, Tedros Adhanom was appointed head of the Tigray Regional Health Bureau.
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11.
In October 2005, Tedros Adhanom was appointed Minister of Health of Ethiopia by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
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12.
Tedros Adhanom designed the health workforce "flooding" reform strategy that has resulted in the training and deployment of thousands of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technologists and health officers.
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13.
In July 2009, Tedros Adhanom was elected board chair of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for a two-year term.
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14.
Tedros Adhanom held this position until 2016, as part of Hailemariam Desalegn's cabinet reshuffle after he was approved by the EPRDF as party leader .
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15.
Tedros Adhanom was responsible for the organization of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda document in which the attending countries committed to financing for the Sustainable Development Goals.
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16.
Tedros Adhanom played a key role in saving the Forum from collapse by bringing polarized positions closer.
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17.
Tedros Adhanom emphasized the need for Africa to focus on issues of economic emancipation, peace and stability, the acceleration of rapid economic growth, governance and democratization.
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18.
Tedros Adhanom helped achieve the agreement between the Federal Government of Somalia and Jubaland Political Actors, which played a role in improving the delivery of health services and protecting the safety and security of Somali citizens.
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19.
Tedros Adhanom advocated that the Ebola crises offer a unique opportunity to strengthen primary health care and highlight the importance of health as a critical security issue.
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20.
Tedros Adhanom promptly mobilised 200 Ethiopian health workers highly trained in management of public health emergencies and surveillance to join the African Union response team.
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21.
Tedros Adhanom said the dam will be used exclusively for power generation and is being constructed in a way that takes Egypt's water security concerns into account.
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22.
On 24 May 2016, on the margins of the 69th World Health Assembly, Tedros Adhanom officially announced his candidacy for the post of the director-general of the World Health Organization as the sole African candidate, with endorsement from the African Union and Ministers of Health of the continent.
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23.
Tedros Adhanom hired Mercury Public Affairs, a US-based lobbying company, to help him with his bid.
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24.
Tedros Adhanom was elected as Director-General of the World Health Organization by the World Health Assembly on 23 May 2017, becoming the first director-general who is not a medical doctor, with an overwhelming 133 votes out of 185.
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25.
Tedros Adhanom became the first African to lead the WHO, as well as the first Director-General elected in a vote open to all Member States.
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26.
Tedros Adhanom has overseen the WHO's management of the Kivu Ebola epidemic.
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27.
Tedros Adhanom made early trips to both the Democratic Republic of Congo and China during the Kivu Ebola epidemic.
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28.
Tedros Adhanom has identified universal health coverage as his top priority at the WHO.
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29.
Tedros Adhanom campaigned on the issue and reiterated this focus in his first speech as Director-General and throughout the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly.
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30.
On 18 October 2017, Tedros Adhanom announced that he had chosen President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to serve as a WHO Goodwill Ambassador to help tackle non-communicable diseases for Africa.
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31.
Mugabe was chair of the African Union when Tedros Adhanom was endorsed as a sole African Union candidate in a murky process that did not consider qualified alternatives like Michel Sidibe of Mali and Awa Marie Coll-Seck of Senegal.
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32.
Tedros Adhanom has aired concerns about the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia.
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33.
Ethiopia's Chief of General Staff, Birhanu Jula Gelalcha, publicly accused Tedros Adhanom of backing the group and trying to get weapons for them on 19 November 2020.
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34.
In early 2020, Tedros Adhanom oversaw the World Health Organization's management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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35.
In January 2020, Tedros Adhanom met with Chinese leaders including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and paramount leader Xi Jinping about COVID-19.
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36.
On 19 December 2020, during the height of the pandemic, the WHO, under Tedros Adhanom's leadership, announced that it had secured 2 billion vaccine doses for distribution starting in 2021, once they had been approved by national agencies.
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37.
In May 2022, Tedros Adhanom commented that the zero-COVID strategy is no longer considered sustainable based on "the behavior of the virus now" and future trends.
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38.
Tedros Adhanom is poised for a second term since no opposing candidate has surfaced.
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39.
Tedros Adhanom was re-appointed on 24 May 2022, unopposed for a term that was scheduled to begin on 16 August 2022.
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