WHO NEWS

New Regional Director for Africa nominated

Dr Luis Gomes Sambo of Angola, who has held senior WHO posts for the last 15 years, has been nominated as the new Regional Director for Africa.

He was elected by the Regional Committee for Africa, which represents 46 governments, on 2 September and his nomination will be submitted to the WHO Executive Board for confirmation in January 2005.

The former Angolan health minister pledged to work towards a more efficient WHO Regional Office for Africa, promising to motivate staff more and provide technical support to Member States in a more efficient way.

In August, outgoing regional director, Dr Ebrahim Samba, who is from the Gambia, dismissed a scathing editorial published in the Lancet medical journal on 7 August criticizing the work of the regional office during his 10-year term.

Samba, who retires at the end of the year, defended his record saying that despite widespread poverty and instability in the region his office had achieved unprecedented success (Bulletin 2004:82(9)).

Incoming director Sambo is currently Director of Programme Management in the African Region, where he is responsible for designing strategies and coordinating technical support programmes for all 46 countries in the region.

This article has received corrections in agreement with the CORRIGENDUM published in Volume 82 Number 11.