Harsh Vardhan elected as chairman of WHO Executive Board

Central Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has been elected as the chairman of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Executive Board. He will assume the charge on 22 May 2020.

He will succeed Dr. Hiroki Nakatani of Japan, who is the current Chairman of the WHO Executive Board. The proposal to appoint India’s nominee to the executive board was signed by the 194-nation World Health Assembly (WHA).

The Executive Board is composed of 34 individuals who are technically qualified in the field of health, each one designated by a member state elected to do so by the WHA. The Member States are elected for a tenure of three-year.

The Executive Board meets at least twice a year and the main meeting is normally held in the month of January. The second meeting will be held in May, immediately after the Health Assembly.

The main function of the Executive Board is to decide policies of the Health Assembly, to advise it, and generally to facilitate its work.