By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is poised to command wide support for a second term as head of the World Health Organisation, formally nominated by more than 12 European Union members and also backed by countries in other regions, diplomats said on Thursday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, an Ethiopian former minister of health and foreign, was elected in May 2017 as the WHO’s first African Director-General. Since then, Tedros has been leading the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

The U.N. agency has been subject to criticisms for its handling of this crisis. It was started by a coronavirus in China that infected 4.9million people in 2019.

While Tedros was accused of being China-centric by Trump’s administration (charges he refuted), relations with Biden were rekindled after Tedros said publicly that additional investigations would be necessary into the cause of the virus. This included audits at China’s laboratories. Diplomats also stated that Tedros had made public statements about this.

Due to the Tigray war friction, Tedros has been shunned in Ethiopia. It was necessary that other countries step in and give his name for a second 5-year term.

According to Reuters, a top diplomat of a non EU country said that Tedros is not in a bad place but the wider international community believes it’s important to support him.

German government sources made clear to Reuters in Berlin on Wednesday that it would officially nominate Tedros https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-seeks-backing-tedros-who-helm-africa-quiet-diplomats-2021-09-22 and was seeking support from other EU member states.

According to a Western diplomat, “substantial” numbers of EU countries have indicated that they will also nominate him for the nomination. He said, “I am aware that he has been nominated in other regions.”

Diplomats stated that while most African countries support Tedros, who championed vaccine access, they are not willing to split with Ethiopia.

They add that the United States is not against Tedros’s new term.

Diplomats stated that 1600 GMT is the deadline to propose candidates for this politically charged race. No other candidate has been known to be running for May’s election.

The WHO process requires that envelopes remain sealed up until Oct. 29. This means it is possible for a country to nominate another candidate. This restriction is intended to prevent campaigning being too premature.