China has put forward maternity health expert Song Li as its candidate to become the next Director-General of the World Health Organization, as the current head’s term approaches its end.
Multiple outlets report that Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s second and final term runs until August 2027, when a successor would take over. Channel NewsAsia and other reports note that if Song Li is elected, she would be the second Chinese national to lead the WHO, after Margaret Chan, who served from 2007 to 2017.
The Punch adds that the nomination could increase Beijing’s influence over the UN health agency. Other accounts focus more directly on the identity of the candidate and the succession timeline, without emphasizing motivations as strongly.
