JNS: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, has been elected as the chairman of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board, is all set to take charge on 22 May, officials said on Tuesday. He will succeed Dr Hiroki Nakatani of Japan, currently the Chairman of the 34-member WHO Executive Board.
The proposal to appoint India’s nominee to the executive board was signed by the 194-nation World Health Assembly on Tuesday, reported media.
According to the reports, his taking over the post seems to be a formality after the decision that he will be India’s nominee as the WHO’s South-East Asia group had unanimously decided last year that India would be elected to the executive board for a three-year term beginning May.
The Executive Board is composed of 34 individuals technically qualified in the field of health, each one designated by a member state elected to do so by the World Health Assembly. Member States are elected for three-year terms.
The Board meets at least twice a year and the main meeting is normally in January, with a second shorter meeting in May, immediately after the Health Assembly.
The main functions of the Executive Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, to advise it and generally to facilitate its work.
