The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has officially put forward Dr Hanan Hassan Balkhy as its nominee for the position of Director-General of the World Health Organization for the term 2027 to 2032. This choice puts a public health expert in charge of the international agency while the world faces many new health challenges.
The diplomatic endorsement highlights Saudi Arabia’s plan to strengthen joint health frameworks, improve crisis readiness systems and promote fair medical coverage for developing countries.
The Saudi Press Agency released a statement about this. This support shows that Saudi Arabia is doing its part to help build health security that lasts. Saudi Arabia is also helping to bring partners to reach an agreement
Dr. Balkhy currently serves as the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, a role she assumed in February 2024 after becoming the first woman elected to the position. Her international portfolio includes serving in Geneva as the agency’s inaugural Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance, where she coordinated global initiatives aimed at addressing drug-resistant pathogens and improving stewardship frameworks across healthcare networks.
Before taking up her United Nations positions, Dr Balkhy spent more than two decades in executive, academic and clinical roles within Saudi Arabia. She earned her medical degree from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah before completing specialised fellowship training in paediatric infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States. She later directed the National Infection Prevention and Control Center and led research initiatives at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, contributing to over 150 peer-reviewed scientific studies.
If elected by member states during the upcoming voting process, Dr. Balkhy would become the first leader from the Middle East to steer the Geneva-based organisation, succeeding current Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus when his tenure concludes. Expressing gratitude to Saudi leadership, Dr. Balkhy emphasised that her candidacy prioritises robust pandemic preparedness, structural transparency, and equitable access to life-saving therapeutics for vulnerable populations worldwide.
The nomination highlights Saudi Arabia’s broader foreign policy trajectory under Vision 2030, which emphasises expanded contributions to international organisations, humanitarian development initiatives, and regional scientific leadership.
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