Question: Who has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Executive Board of World Health Organisation on May 22 2020?
(a) Dr Harsh Vardhan
(b) Patricia Roberts
(c) Nancy Pelosi
(d) Iraj Harirchi
Answer: (a)
Related facts:
- The Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan has been elected as Chair of the Executive Board of World Health Organization for the year 2020-21.
- This took place today during the 147th session of the Executive Board, in a meeting that was virtually held.
- He has replaced Dr Hiroki Nakatani of Japan.
- Dr Harsh Vardhan also shared India’s experience of combating COVID-19. and said that India has a mortality of 3 per cent only. In a country of 1.35 billion, there are only 0.1 million cases of COVID19. The recovery rate is above 40 per cent and the doubling rate is 13 days.
- Dr Harsh Vardhan has also been a member of several prestigious committees of WHO like Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) and the Global Technical Consultative Group (TCG) on Polio Eradication.
- He has also served as an Advisor to the WHO.
- Executive Board of WHO:
- The Executive Board of WHO is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year term.
- The main functions of the Board are to implement the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, and advise and facilitate its work.
- From 1993 to 1998, he served as the Minister of Health, Education, Law & Justice & Legislative Affairs for the Govt. of NCT of Delhi.
- In 1994, as the Delhi Health Minister, he oversaw the successful implementation of the pilot project of the Pulse Polio Programme which involved the mass immunisation of 1.2 million children up to the age of 3 in Delhi, laying the groundwork for a Polio free India in 2014.
- Dr Harsh Vardhan has been the Union Health Minister in 2014, and latertook over as the Union Minister Science & Technology and Earth Sciences. He was also Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He was re-elected to the 17th Lok Sabha and sworn in on May 30th, 2019 asUnion Cabinet Minister and was given the portfolios of Health and Family Welfare; Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.
Author: Himanshu Shukla
Links: