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GENEVA : Margaret Chan has taken up her position as the new head of the World Health Organisation and said she wanted her leadership to be judged on how she helps improve the health of women and Africans.
The 59-year-old is the first Chinese to head a United Nations body. Chan was named director general of the WHO head two months ago following the unexpected death of her South Korean predecessor, Lee Jong-Wook.
"I want my leadership to be judged by the impact of our work on the health of two populations: women and the people of Africa," she told reporters Thursday.
She said this did not necessarily mean new structures and policies, but that existing schemes such as the WHO's Family and Child Health programme could be used as yardsticks to measure progress.
Chan, who is described as "authoritarian but efficient" by one diplomat who has followed her rise, also highlighted bird flu as an area of key concern.
A new pandemic would have disastrous consequences, especially in countries with weak healthcare systems and where the population is already affected by diseases such as HIV/AIDS, she said.
"The next pandemic, if it occurs, will be very devastating ... we are very concerned of the likelihood of a pandemic," she warned.
Chan won plaudits in 1997 for her tough stance on an outbreak of avian flu in Hong Kong, when she served as the Chinese territory's health care chief. She ordered a mass cull of over one million chickens which, though initially criticised, was subsequently vindicated with international praise.
Her relationship with Beijing will now be closely watched by the rest of the world at a time of growing Chinese political and economic influence.
When nominated in November, she insisted she would be impartial and not beholden to China, which has come under fire for its perceived lack of transparency and cooperation with the WHO over the extent of bird flu within its borders.
Returning to this point on Thursday, she said that she felt her background made her uniquely placed to deal with the government in Beijing on sensitive issues.
"I truly believe that of all people I would be in a better position to discuss with the Chinese authorities the sharing of specimens and of examples," Chan said.
The new chief of the WHO, which is governed by its 193 member states, said the organisation must change in order to meet the concerns of its members, but that "no upheaval, no revolution" was on the cards.
"We need to have an organisation which is ... transparent, accountable and nimble," she said.
Asked about the WHO's stance on the often prohibitive cost of medication in the developing world, Chan said a balance needed to be struck between safeguarding intellectual property rights and ensuring access for the world's neediest.
"It is not an easy balancing act but we cannot be evasive," she said.
She said there were six core areas for the WHO in the coming years: development for health, health security, health systems capacity, information and knowledge.
The WHO's objective, as set out in its constitution and published on its website, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.
Health is defined by the WHO as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
- AFP /ls
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