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On the opening day of the World Health Summit 2026, five prospective candidates for the post of WHO Director-General came together in Berlin. Their first joint appearance in the current election process offered an early opportunity to hear their visions for WHO and its role in the global health architecture. The conversation was chaired by Björn Kümmel, Co-Chair of the Task Force of the WHO-hosted Joint Process on global health architecture reform.
The prospective candidates participating were:
Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, proposed by Qatar
Dr. Hanan Balkhy, proposed by Saudi Arabia
Dr. María Neira, proposed by Spain
Budi Gunadi Sadikin, proposed by Indonesia
Gevorg Tamamyan, proposed by Botswana
WHO Member States will appoint the next Director-General at the World Health Assembly in May 2027, as Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus concludes his second term. The conversation at WHS 2026 formed part of the wider debate on the organization’s future leadership and the direction of multilateral cooperation in health.