Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
(born 3 March 1965) is an Ethiopian
microbiologist and internationally recognized malaria researcher who currently
serves as Director-General of the World Health Organization, a position he has
held since 2017. Tedros is the first non-physician and first African in the
role. Tedros has held two high level positions in the Government of Ethiopia:
From 2005 to 2012, Tedros was Ethiopia's Minister of Health and from 2012 to
2016, Tedros was Ethiopia's Minister of Foreign Affairs.Tedros was born in
Asmara, which at that time was in Ethiopia – but is now the capital of Eritrea
– to Adhanom Gebreyesus and Melashu Weldegabir. The family originated from the
Enderta awrajja of the province of Tigray. As a child, Tedros has discussed
being very aware of the suffering and death caused by malaria. His younger
brother died at the age of 3 or 4 years old, possibly by a preventable disease
like measles, which Tedros often discusses as a defining experience in regards to
the need for global healthcare.
In 1986, Tedros received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree
in Biology from the University of Asmara. In 1992, Tedros received a Master of
Science (MSc) degree in Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine at the University of London. In 2000,
he earned a PhD in community health from the University of Nottingham for
research investigating the effects of dams on the transmission of malaria in
the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
On 24 May 2016, on the margins of the 69th World Health
Assembly, Tedros 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. His official launch of candidacy in Geneva was attended by the
chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Rwanda and Kenya, and the Minister of Health of
Algeria. During the launch, it was stressed that the nomination of Tedros
was based on merit and his prolific national and global credentials. His
campaign tagline was "Together for a Healthier World." His Campaign
Chair was Senait Fisseha, an Ethio-American lawyer and a Professor of
Gynaecology and Obstetrics from University of Michigan. During this period she
was also Director of International Programmes at the Susan Thompson Buffett
Foundation, a post she hold since 2015 to advance women's health and
reproductive rights globally.[45] She later led his transition team. Negash
Kebret Botora, Ethiopia's ambassador to the UN and international organisations
in Geneva, also played a critical role in the campaign. The campaign was
supported in part by a Fund created by East African countries. Tedros also
hired Mercury Public Affairs, a US-based lobbying company, to help him with his
bid.
During its 140th meeting in January 2017, the Executive
Board of the WHO shortlisted Tedros as the front runner out of six candidates
through two rounds of secret voting. He collected the most votes during both
rounds. On 23 May 2017, Tedros was elected as the next Director-General for the
World Health Organization[50] with an overwhelming 133 votes out of 185 His
election was historic, as he became the first African to lead the WHO, as well
as the first Director-General elected in a vote open to all Member States.
Tedros 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. He took office for a five-year
term on 1 July 2017.
Tedros has overseen the WHO management of the Kivu Ebola
epidemic. He made early trips to both the Democratic Republic of Congo and
China during the Kivu Ebola epidemic.
In 1986, Tedros joined the Ministry of Health as a Minister
of Health where he received praise for a number of innovative and system-wide
health reforms that substantially improved access to health services and key
outcomes in Ethiopia. Amongst them were hiring and training roughly 40,000
female health extension workers, cutting infant mortality from 123 deaths per
1,000 live births in 2006 to 88 in 2011, and increasing the hiring of health
cadres including medical doctors and midwives.
In 2001, Tedros was appointed head of the Tigray Regional
Health Bureau. As head of the bureau, Tedros was credited with making a 22.3%
reduction in AIDS prevalence in the region, and a 68.5% reduction in meningitis
cases. He oversaw a campaign to improve ICT access that installed computers and
internet connectivity to most of the region's hospitals and clinics, whereas
they had not been connected before.
During his time in this position, health care staffing was
increased by 50%. Immunization for measles was raised to 98% of all children
and total immunisation for all children under 12 months was raised to 74%. The
percentage of government funding for the Tigray Regional Health Bureau was
increased to 65%, with foreign donors' percentage falling to 35%. Overall,
68.5% of the population was provided with health care services within 10 km.
In late 2003, Tedros was appointed a State Minister (deputy
minister) for Health and served for just over a year.
In October 2005, Tedros was appointed Minister of Health of
Ethiopia by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Despite the many challenges faced by
the health ministry in terms of poverty, poor infrastructure, and a declining
global economic situation, progress in health indicators was considered
"impressive" in Ethiopia. During the period 2005–2008, the Ethiopian
Ministry of Health built 4,000 health centres, trained and deployed more than
30,000 health extension workers, and developed a new cadre of hospital
management professionals as part of a Health Extension Program (HEP).
Furthermore, in 2010, Ethiopia was chosen by the US State Department as one of
the US Global Health Initiative Plus countries, where the US will support
innovative global health efforts.
Tedros inherited a ministry with a strong vision but little
capability to meet that vision. The Ministry was somewhat beholden to a donor
community that was focused on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and malaria programs when
Tedros first assumed his leadership position with a diagonal, systems-based
reform agenda. With little economic surplus, the country lacked capacity to
build its own health systems, and much of the Ethiopian human resources for
health had fled the country: for example, there are more Ethiopian doctors in
the Chicago metropolitan area than in Ethiopia. Tedros 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.
As Minister of Health, Tedros was able to form a close
relationship with prominent figures including former American president Bill
Clinton and the Clinton Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Global Health Initiatives
During his time as Minister of Health of Ethiopia, Tedros
was very active in global health initiatives. Ethiopia was the first country to
sign compact with the International Health Partnership. He was Chair of the
Roll Back Malaria Partnership (2007–2009), Programme Coordinating Board of
UNAIDS (2009–2010) and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
(2009–2011) and Co-Chair of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child
Health (2005–2009). He also served as member of the Global Alliance for
Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) Board as well as the Institute of Health
Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board. He
was also member of several academic and global health think tanks including the
Aspen Institute and Harvard School of Public Health.[citation needed] He served
as vice-president of the 60th World Health Assembly that was held on 14–23 May
2007. From 2008 until 2009, he was a member of the High Level Taskforce on
Innovative International Financing for Health Systems, co-chaired by Gordon
Brown and Robert Zoellick.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
In July 2009, Tedros was elected Board Chair of The Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for a two-year term. In a profile
published in April 2010, The Lancet reported that Tedros was "a household
name at the Global Fund Secretariat" before his election as Board Chair
where his leadership was regularly cited at the Global Fund that resulted in
Ethiopia to be named as an exemplary high-performing country.
Maternal and Child Health
The rate of child deaths fell by 30 percent between 2005 and
2011.[19] Infant mortality decreased by 23 percent, from 77 to 59 deaths per
1,000 births, while under-five mortality decreased by 28 percent, from 123 to
88 per 1,000 births. The number of expectant mothers who delivered with the
help of a skilled provider rose from 6 percent in 2005 to 10 percent in 2011,
according to the 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey.
Tuberculosis
During Tedros' tenure, TB prevention and treatment services
were included as one of the packages of the Health Extension Workers which has
resulted in impressive improvement of performance and the achievement of the TB
MDG targets well ahead of the target time.
Malaria
Deaths from malaria fell by more than 50% from 2005 to 2007.
The rate of new malaria admittances fell 54% in the country over the same
period, while the number of childhood malaria cases reported at clinics fell by
60%.[23] The Health Ministry conducted the distribution of 20.5 million
insecticide-treated bed nets to protect over 10 million families in
malaria-prone areas between 2005 and 2008.
According to the WHO Africa office (WHO-AFRO), in 2011 when
Tedros was the minister of health, 75% of the land and 60% of the population
was exposed to malaria in Ethiopia, although malaria admissions and deaths
marginally fell in recent years.
The National Malaria Guideline (3rd Edition) prepared by the
Ministry of Health of Ethiopia in 2012, before the departure of Tedros to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, states that "52 million people (68%) live in
Malaria-risk areas". The document further reveals that "Ethiopia is
one of the most malaria-prone countries in Africa, with rates of morbidity and
mortality increasing dramatically (i.e. 3.5-fold) during epidemics". The
same document alleges serious policy failures of the Government of Tedros who
was the Minister of Health until 2013. It argues "Ethiopia faces many
challenges related to human resources for healthcare, including the shortage of
skilled health workers, high turnover and lack of retention of health
professionals". In addition to these challenges, the National Malaria
Guideline stresses once again, "serious problems in coordinating health
interventions and implementing partners".
AIDS
Under Tedros, the Ministry of Health was able to turn around
Ethiopia's record of the highest number of new HIV infections in Africa,
bringing the number down dramatically. The prevalence was reduced from its
double digit record to 4.2 in cities and 0.6 in rural areas. According to the
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (HAPCO) said the rate of HIV infection
in Ethiopia has declined by 90% between 2002 and 2012, while the rate
AIDS-related death has dropped by 53%. The number of people starting HIV
treatment increased more than 150-fold during 2005–2008.
The decline in the infection rate has been attributed to the
concerted effort of the Ministry of Health in providing medicines and
organizing various awareness-raising programs.[23] The office has managed to
integrate the people in HIV prevention and control activities. The wide range
of media campaigns to inform the public about the disease has definitely paid
off as it has helped achieve behavioral change. Prevention measures like the
use of condoms have shot up starkly with increased awareness on the disease and
advertising urging safe sex practices and condom use.[23] The government's
collaboration with local and international governmental and nongovernmental
organizations has also positively influenced access to HIV/AIDS related service
centers.
Family planning
Under Tedros' tenure, the unmet need for family planning in
Ethiopia has declined, and the contraceptive prevalence rate has doubled in 5
years. Based on the current trends, contraceptive prevalence rates will reach
65% by 2015 by reaching additional 6.2 million women and adolescent girls.
Recognising that early childrearing is a major factor in infant mortality, the
Ministry of Health is targeting its efforts on adolescent girls (15 to 19
years) who have the highest unmet need for family planning.
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