Your Excellency Chair,
Your Excellencies, Ministers and Heads of Delegation,
Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari,
The RD-elect, my sister Dr Hanan Balkhy,
Dear colleagues and friends,
As-Salaam-Alaikum.
I offer my warm congratulations to Dr Hanan Balkhy on her election as Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, and also my congratulations to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Indeed, the first woman to take this position, so history in the making. Congratulations to all Members for that choice.
I also congratulate Dr Najim Abbas Jabir Al-Awwadi, Dr Ali Akbari Sarion and Dr Ahmed Farah Shadoul on your campaigns, and I thank you for putting yourselves forward for this very demanding but very important position.
Dr Balkhy, you have earned the confidence and trust of the Member States of the region. This is a great privilege, and a very great responsibility.
But as you know, you have earned my confidence long ago, even before you joined the World Health Organization, when you were serving WHO voluntarily as a member of a committee on antimicrobial resistance.
The first meeting was in Rome, and she was very eloquent, she knew what she was saying, and had incredible skill that I have observed. That was when we proposed her to be the Assistant Director-General for AMR. And I think she has the blessing of many Member States, even beyond this.
I was confident, because I knew the capacity that you had from the day I first knew about you. So, congratulations again, well-deserved. This is also a very important message for women, that they can break any glass ceiling.
The health of 745 million people is in your hands. No pressure!
As you know, the Region is extremely diverse, with a huge range of cultures, languages, landscapes, and income levels.
From the Sahara to the Himalayas;
From the North Atlantic to the Caspian Sea;
From huge cities to remote mountain villages;
From some of the world’s richest countries, to some of its poorest.
Equally, you are faced with a huge range of health challenges, from ageing to antimicrobial resistance; dengue to diabetes, malaria to mental health, and so much more.
There is a gap of 25 years between the countries with the region’s shortest and longest life expectancies.
I don’t need to remind you of the scale of challenges you face.
This role will demand every bit of the technical, managerial and diplomatic skill you have, and more.
But you are not alone. You are supported by a very dedicated and talented team at the Regional Office.
And I assure you of my support and that of my colleagues – and your colleagues - in Geneva.
You will assume this position at a critical time, as we seek to jump-start progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, which were significantly derailed.
If you serve two terms, you will lead the region to the end of the SDG era, and the beginning of the next era.
And if you serve two terms, you will be working with a new Director-General in four years’ time.
But in the meantime, you’re stuck with me.
I look forward to working with you. The success of this organization depends on close cooperation, coordination and trust between headquarters, the Regional Offices and country offices.
You are a pleasant person to work with and someone who always has a team spirit, and so I believe this will happen.
If there is one thing we need to do together, it is the alignment of the headquarters, the Regional Offices, and country offices, which we have already started under the ARG initiative which you are already working on.
I am committed to working closely with you, our regional and country office colleagues, and our Member States, to promote, provide, protect, power and perform for the health of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Of course, you have big shoes to fill. But I know you will make it.
My brother Ahmed, thank you Member States for your confidence in him, and for the standing ovation, which is well deserved. On your behalf and on my behalf, I would like to thank you once again for your outstanding leadership over the past five years. And I wish you every happiness in the next chapter of life. And I think you also for all of the kind words. I look forward to working with you. Once WHO, always WHO.
Once again, Dr Balkhy, congratulations. I very much look forward to welcoming you to the Global Policy Group, and to working with you for a healthier, safer, fairer Eastern Mediterranean.
One more thing: the climate and health meeting in Dubai, COP 28, I would like to join the Minister in inviting you to that meeting. It is going to be very crucial, and I thank the UAE for your leadership. This is the first time that health was given a full dedicated day, but not only that, its during prime time, on the third day of COP28. Health has never been discussed before day six or day seven before, and not for a full dedicated day. So, this is very historic. Shukran jazeelan for your leadership, UAE. Let’s really make use of that opportunity and I would like to invite you all to join. And see you there.
I thank you. Shukran jazeelan.