Poonam Khetrapal re-elected in WHO
New Delhi, Sep 5 : Poonam Khetrapal Singh on Wednesday was elected as Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia for a second five-year term, World Health Organisation said.
Singh's candidature was unopposed, as the 11 member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region met at the ongoing Regional Committee session held here to elect the next Regional Director, the global health body said in a statement.
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda who chaired the Regional Committee meeting said: "She will surely lead the region to greater heights. Her commitment to the public health agenda in the member states was reflected in all flagship priorities of the region."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that she had brought a delivering results in countries -- a key theme of WHO's new General Programme of Work and of WHO's transformation project.
Thanking the member states for electing her, Singh said:"My vision is to consolidate, accelerate and innovate to further strengthen progress in the priority areas and translate vision into action."
Singh will commence her next five-year term on February 1, 2019.
She served in the health sector in various senior positions during her stint in the Indian Administrative Services and in the World Bank.
She also worked in WHO Director-General's cabinet in Geneva, as the Executive Director of Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments in WHO headquarters and was Deputy Regional Director WHO South-East Asia Region from 2000-2013.
As per WHO procedures, the WHO Executive Board, which next meets in Geneva in January 2019 is expected to confirm Khetrapal Singh's nomination and appoint her as the Regional Director.
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Power struggle in ruling Cong has 'created massive confusion' in Karnataka: BJP leader Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday claimed that the ongoing power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar has created massive confusion in Karnataka.
He remarked that the proverb “when two people fight, the third one benefits” has come true, as AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is also now making efforts to become Chief Minister.
Speaking to reporters here, Ashoka said the entire government has turned into a house of confusion due to the alleged power tussle.
Kharge’s new statement has only added to the chaos, he said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had on Friday said that no date has been fixed yet to discuss possible leadership change in Karnataka.
This came a day after Kharge said there was no change of CM in Karnataka "for now" and that the leadership issue in the state would be resolved soon.
The BJP leader said that Kharge too has aspirations and that he was cheated earlier.
"Perhaps he has received a green signal from the Congress high command to become CM. Everyone is already saying Kharge should become CM. Kharge himself has declared, “I am ready to become CM.” Despite many attempts in the past, he never became CM. Now he is trying to seize the opportunity," the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly said.
According to him, the situation in Congress has perfectly become a case of “two people fighting, third one benefits.”
