Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu is on a week-long official visit to Geneva, Switzerland to attend the annual meeting of the World Health Organization.
During the event, the new Director General of WHO will be elected at a session to be held at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva from today to Wednesday next week.
“Agenda items to be discussed include the next WHO programme budget for the period 2018-2019; the process of the election of the next Director General of the World Health Organisation and an update of the African Candidate vying for the post; Polio eradication and transition planning; Health systems strengthening and human resources for Health and the Global vaccine action plan,” a statement from the ministry said.
Three candidates have been nominated for the position.
They include Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Dr David Nabarro and Dr Sania Nishtar.
All Member States will choose among the three candidates by vote at the World Health Assembly.
The new Director-General will take office on 1 July 2017 for a five-year term.
The new director will succeed Dr Margaret Chan who was first appointed by the World Health Assembly on 9 November 2006.
The Assembly appointed Dr Chan for a second five-year term at its sixty-fifth session in May 2012.
Mailu (pictured) led the kenyan delegation comprising of officials from the Council of Governors, the National Assembly, the Senate and the Ministry of Health.
Kenya is one of the 194 World Health Organisation members states.
The theme of this year’s assembly is ‘advancing the 2030 agenda for sustainable development: building better systems for health’.
