Federal Council receives new WHO Director-General in Bern

Bern, 04.07.2017 - President Doris Leuthard and Federal Councillor Alain Berset received the new Director-General of the World Health Organization WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, for talks in Bern.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took up the post of Director-General of the World Health Organization WHO on 1 July. The 194 member states elected him to the office on 23 May. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus previously held the posts of foreign minister and health minister in Ethiopia. He succeeds Margaret Chan, who headed the WHO for ten years.

President Doris Leuthard and Federal Councillor Alain Berset welcomed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to Switzerland. The headquarters of the WHO and the Director-General's place of work are in Geneva. A range of issues were discussed at the meeting including the ongoing WHO reform process, the importance of the WHO's global normative leadership role, the UN's Agenda 2030, the priorities of Switzerland's health foreign policy and the importance of health in all policies.

Representatives from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) held more in depth talks with the new WHO Director-General at a working meeting.

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