Dr. Hanan Hassan Balkhi Enters Race for WHO Director-General, Promising a More Reliable WHO

Dr. Hanan Hassan Balkhi Launches Campaign for WHO Director-General, Pledging to Make the Organization “Reliable for the World”

Dr. Hanan Hassan Balkhi, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, has announced her candidacy for the position of Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) following her nomination by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She has pledged to build a WHO that can be relied upon by countries and communities around the world, with a focus on scientific integrity, preparedness, measurable impact and people-centred health systems.

Launching her candidacy, Dr. Balkhi said the world needs a WHO that is prepared to act before crises emerge and capable of responding decisively when they occur. She also outlined a vision in which universal health coverage moves beyond being a global commitment to becoming a reality that people experience in their everyday lives.

“The world needs a reliable WHO, and that means making decisions based on science and transparency; an organization that is prepared before crises occur and critical when they do occur; and a WHO that transforms universal health coverage from a global obligation into something people experience in their daily lives.”

Dr. Balkhi said her candidacy is grounded in more than three decades of experience spanning clinical medicine, academic research, health-system strengthening and international public health leadership.

“I have spent my career confronting health threats, strengthening health systems, and leading through crises. I have worked and led WHO at all levels—national, regional and global—and I understand both what Member States need from the Organization and what it takes to deliver what they need. I also know the difference strong organizations can make when they are reliable, prepared, and focused on delivery.”

She described her campaign as a commitment to transformative change within the global health institution, built around three central principles: trust, impact and value.

“My candidacy is a commitment to the transformative change the WHO now needs: gaining ‘trust’ through science and stewardship, delivering impact through preparedness and country-led action, and demonstrating ‘value’ through measurable results. Above all, it means keeping the focus on people at the heart of global health.”

Three Decades of Clinical and Global Health Leadership

A physician with more than three decades of experience in clinical medicine, academic research and international public health, Dr. Balkhi has built her career from caring for patients in hospitals to leadership positions within the World Health Organization.

She currently serves as WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, where she leads the Organization’s work across 22 Member States, representing more than 750 million people. Prior to assuming the regional leadership role, she served as the first WHO Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance and was a member of the WHO Global Policy Group.

Her professional experience spans clinical practice, scientific research, health policy, emergency preparedness and institutional leadership. Trained in Saudi Arabia and the United States, Dr. Balkhi has worked across diverse health systems and political environments, including in Saudi Arabia, the Eastern Mediterranean region and at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

Throughout her career, she has focused on strengthening the connection between science and policy, responding to immediate health emergencies while building health-system capacity for the longer term. Her approach places particular emphasis on measurable outcomes and ensuring that global health commitments translate into tangible improvements for communities.

Experience on the Front Lines of Health Emergencies

Dr. Balkhi’s experience in managing infectious disease threats predates the COVID-19 pandemic. During the years of heightened concern surrounding Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), she worked on the front lines of the response and contributed to efforts to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s national health-security infrastructure.

Her work included helping establish Saudi Arabia’s National Infection Prevention Program, strengthening the country’s research capabilities and leading its first Phase I clinical vaccine trial.

This experience, combined with her work in health-system strengthening and international public health, has shaped her emphasis on preparedness as a core component of effective global health leadership.

For Dr. Balkhi, preparedness means ensuring that countries have the systems, workforce, scientific capabilities and institutional partnerships required to act before a crisis escalates. It also means ensuring that international institutions are equipped to support countries rapidly and effectively when emergencies occur.

A Platform Built Around Trust, Impact and Value

At the heart of Dr. Balkhi’s candidacy is a three-part platform centred on trust, impact and value.

Trust: Restoring Confidence in the WHO

The first priority is to build a WHO that countries and communities can rely upon. Dr. Balkhi’s vision places science, transparency, accountability and institutional stewardship at the centre of the Organization’s decision-making.

Her platform calls for strengthening the scientific authority of the WHO while protecting its independence and ensuring that its work remains transparent and accountable to Member States.

Impact: Strengthening Preparedness and Response

The second priority is impact—ensuring that WHO support is available when and where it matters most.

This includes accelerating preparedness for health emergencies, strengthening response capabilities and supporting countries as they navigate crises. Dr. Balkhi’s approach places country-led action at the centre of the Organization’s work, with the aim of ensuring that global health initiatives are responsive to national priorities and capable of delivering results on the ground.

Value: Demonstrating Measurable Results

The third priority is value. Dr. Balkhi has emphasized the importance of demonstrating clear and measurable outcomes from the resources entrusted to the WHO.

This includes advancing universal health coverage, strengthening national health-system capacity and ensuring that investments in global health translate into tangible benefits for people and communities.

Together, these priorities are intended to create an organization that is more trusted, more responsive and more focused on delivering measurable results.

Saudi Arabia Backs Balkhi’s Candidacy

The Saudi nomination comes with strong support from the Kingdom’s health leadership.

His Excellency Fahd Abdul Rahman Al-Jalajel, Minister of Health of Saudi Arabia, described Dr. Balkhi as “one of the world’s leading public health experts,” highlighting her longstanding commitment to global health and her combination of innovative thinking, leadership experience and demonstrated results.

Her candidacy has also received the backing of Saudi Arabia’s senior leadership. Dr. Balkhi expressed her gratitude to the Kingdom and to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as well as His Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for the nomination.

She said the nomination reflects their leadership and commitment to advancing global health for all.

A Pivotal Moment for the World Health Organization

Dr. Balkhi’s campaign comes at a significant moment for the WHO and the international health community.

The Organization is moving from negotiation towards implementation of the Pandemic Agreement, while simultaneously working to strengthen its financial sustainability and funding base. Member States are also placing greater emphasis on national ownership of health priorities and on ensuring that international institutions provide practical, effective and measurable support.

These developments have intensified discussions around the future role of the WHO and the type of leadership required to navigate a rapidly changing global health environment.

Against this backdrop, Dr. Balkhi has positioned her candidacy around institutional reliability, stronger preparedness and a greater focus on delivery. Her platform seeks to connect the WHO’s global mandate with the practical needs of countries and the people they serve.

Taking the Campaign to the Global Health Community

As part of her campaign, Dr. Balkhi has begun an international programme of engagements, meeting government officials, health leaders and frontline practitioners to discuss the priorities and challenges facing countries and the global health system.

She has recently participated in WHO regional engagements in Ethiopia and Timor-Leste, including the WHO Regional Committee for Africa and the WHO South-East Asia regional meeting. She is also scheduled to participate in the United Nations General Assembly and undertake engagements in Washington, D.C., later this month.

These international engagements are intended to provide an opportunity for Dr. Balkhi to listen to Member States and health professionals, understand their priorities and build support around her vision for the future of the Organization.

Her experience across national, regional and global levels of the WHO gives her a broad perspective on the challenges facing the institution. It also informs her emphasis on connecting global health policy with implementation at country level.

A Vision Focused on People and Delivery

Throughout her career, Dr. Balkhi has worked across clinical medicine, research, health-system development and global health policy. Her experience responding to infectious disease threats, strengthening health systems and working across diverse political and institutional environments forms the foundation of her candidacy.

Her campaign argues that the WHO’s future effectiveness will depend not only on the strength of its scientific expertise, but also on its ability to translate that expertise into action.

The three pillars of trust, impact and value are therefore positioned as interconnected priorities: trust in the science and stewardship of the Organization; impact through preparedness and country-led action; and value through measurable improvements in health outcomes.

As the global health community faces increasingly complex challenges—from infectious disease outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance to health-system pressures and inequities in access to care—Dr. Balkhi is calling for a WHO that is prepared, responsive and focused on results.

Her central message is clear: the WHO must be an organization that countries can depend on and that people can see delivering meaningful improvements in their lives.

With her candidacy now formally launched, Dr. Balkhi will take her vision to Member States and the wider international health community, seeking to build support for a WHO that she says can once again be “reliable for the world.”

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