World Health Organization Director-Elect Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in touring the United States this week, visiting key funders of the WHO, partner international organisations, US government agencies and nongovernmental organisations, and a Canadian ministry.

In a new process for WHO (IPW, WHO, 7 June 2017), Tedros was elected at the annual World Health Assembly late last month (IPW, WHO, 23 May 2017). He held his first meeting with UN press the next day (IPW, WHO, 24 May 2017), in which he indicated that he would be talking with the Trump administration about its proposed drastic cuts in funding for global health.

The US government and US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are among the largest funders of the WHO.

Tedros takes office on 1 July.

The full WHO press release is reprinted below:

WHO DG-elect on high-level US tour to advance new vision for WHO

WHO Director-General elect, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is in the United States of America 12-17 June  to share his vision for the World Health Organization with global leaders, before taking up his new position on 1 July.

Over five days Dr Tedros will meet with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Jim Kim, World Bank Group President; Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director; Tom Price, Secretary of US Health and Human Services; and others, including leadership for the Canadian Ministry of International Development and La Francophonie, Carter Center, United Nations, US Agency for International Development, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the US State Department.

On Monday 12 June 2017, Dr Tedros will address global health leaders gathered at the Rotary Convention in Atlanta to reaffirm commitment to eradicating polio.

In the first of a series of trips planned to WHO’s regional offices, the Director-General elect will also visit the headquarters of WHO’s regional office for the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington DC.

Dr Tedros has consistently described his top priority as Director-General to be the pursuit of health for all people. He has also emphasized the importance of strengthening countries’ capacity to respond to health emergencies, be these disease outbreaks or humanitarian crises, as well as the need to put the wellbeing of women, children and adolescents at the centre of health and development and to advance work on climate change and health.

The Director-General elect has also committed to build on existing efforts to turn WHO into a more effective, transparent, and accountable agency, stressing the critical value of partnerships.

“I look forward to the opportunity to meet so many key partners while in the United States. I want everyone to know that from my first day in office, I am determined for WHO to be the best possible partner for global health.”

Dr Tedros, formerly Minister of Health, and Foreign Minister for Ethiopia, was elected Director-General of WHO on 23 May 2017.