MANILA, 9 October 2018 – Dr Takeshi Kasai has been nominated as the next World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Western Pacific.
Dr Kasai was proposed by Japan. Health ministers and other senior officials from 30 countries voted today during the sixty-ninth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific in Manila, Philippines.
The nominated candidate’s name will be submitted for appointment to the 144th session of the WHO Executive Board to take place in January 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The new Regional Director will take office on 1 February for a term of five years. Regional Directors may serve up to two terms.
Current Regional Director Dr Shin Young-soo, who has served since 2009, offered best wishes to his successor.
“I warmly congratulate and sincerely wish Dr Kasai the very best as the next Regional Director,” he said. “When he takes the reins in February, he will inherit a strong and robust Organization, and the honour of working with a diverse group of countries joined by a formidable bond of solidarity and an unwavering commitment to delivering better health for all.”
Later this week, the Regional Committee will adopt action plans to address a variety of health issues affecting the Region’s nearly 1.9 billion people. They include:
- fighting neglected tropical diseases;
- strengthening rehabilitation services;
- improving hospital planning and management;
- harnessing e-health for improved service delivery; and
- strengthening legal frameworks for health in the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Regional Committee will also discuss progress on health security, infectious and noncommunicable diseases, and environmental health.
Notes to editors
Additional information on the nominee, including biography and proposal: www.wpro.who.int/about/regional_committee/regional_director_nomination
More on the sixty-ninth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific: http://www.who.int/westernpacific/about/governance/regional-committee/session-69
The Regional Committee is streamed live on the WHO website www.who.int/westernpacific and updates are being posted on the @WHOWPRO Facebook and Twitter accounts with the hashtag #RCM69.
Working with 194 Member States across six regions, WHO is the United Nations agency responsible for public health. Each WHO region has its own regional committee, composed of ministers of health and senior officials from Member States, who meet annually. The Regional Committee sets policies and reviews WHO’s work over the previous year.
The 30 Members of the Regional Committee eligible to vote in the election for Regional Director of the Western Pacific: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, France (which has responsibility for French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna), Japan, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (which has responsibility for the Pitcairn Islands), United States of America (which has responsibility for American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands), Vanuatu, and Viet Nam.