For the first time, an Armenian candidate has been nominated for the post of director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Independent international health platform Health Policy Watch reports that pediatric oncologist-hematologist Professor Gevorg Tamamyan has been included among the candidates for WHO director-general, Sputnik Armenia reports.
Tamamyan was nominated by the government of Botswana, led by President Duma Gideon Boko, which is itself an exceptional case.
WHO member states generally nominate their own nationals for the position. Botswana nominated the Armenian doctor in recognition of his global contribution to strengthening healthcare systems and improving access to cancer treatment in resource-limited countries.
“As a pediatric oncologist, I have spent my professional journey organizing care in places where resources were scarce and communities underserved. I have seen children survive when few believed they would, and I have seen children die simply because of where they were born,” Dr. Gevorg Tamamyan wrote on X.
Tamamyan is executive director of the Institute of Immune Oncology Research (IMMONC) and co-founder and editor-in-chief of OncoDaily, one of the world’s largest media platforms focused on cancer. He is a former head of Armenia’s Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, head of the Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology at Yerevan State Medical University, and president of the POEM collaborative network. The Pediatric Oncology East and Mediterranean Group brings together pediatric oncologists, scientists and healthcare professionals from 28 countries and 110 cancer centers.
The election is scheduled to take place in May 2027 during the 80th World Health Assembly.
The other candidates for WHO director-general are Hans Henri Kluge of Belgium, Hanan Hamad Al Balkhy of Saudi Arabia, Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari of Qatar, Budi Gunadi Sadikin of Indonesia and Maria Neira of Spain.