Tedros Adhanom

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (ቴዎድሮስ አድሓኖም ገብረኢየሱስ, sometimes spelt ቴድሮስ ኣድሓኖም ገብረየሱስ; born 3 March 1965 ) is an Ethiopian public health official, researcher, diplomat, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization since 2017.

Tedros is the first African to become WHO Director-General, receiving an endorsement for the role by the African Union.

He played a role in the response to the Ebola virus epidemic, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2022–2023 mpox outbreak.

In 1986, Tedros received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Asmara.

In 1986, after his first degree, Tedros joined the Ethiopian Ministry of Health as a junior public health expert.

Tedros joined the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

He studied at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and was awarded a Master of Science degree in immunology of infectious diseases from the University of London in 1992.

In 2000, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy in community health from the University of Nottingham for research on the effects of dams on malaria transmission in the Tigray region.

In 2001, Tedros was appointed head of the Tigray Regional Health Bureau.

In 2003, he was appointed a State Minister (deputy minister) for Health, a post he held for just over a year.

Prior to serving as Director-General, he held two high-level positions in the government of Ethiopia: Minister of Health from 2005 to 2012 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2016.

In October 2005, Tedros was appointed Minister of Health of Ethiopia by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Tigray People's Liberation Front.

At this time the Ethiopian health ministry faced challenges that included poverty, poor infrastructure, and a declining global economic situation; Ethiopia employed fewer doctors than the number of Ethiopian doctors working in the Chicago metropolitan area.

A review published in Global Health Governance considered progress in health indicators during this period to be significant.

The Health Ministry's activities from 2005 to 2008 were supported by US$1.9 billion in development aid, increased focus on links between community and centralized health systems, and less exclusive attention to HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Tedros designed the health workforce "flooding" reform strategy that has resulted in the training and deployment of thousands of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technologists and health officers.

This program included the construction of 4,000 health centres, trained and deployed more than 30,000 health extension workers, and developed a new cadre of hospital management professionals as part of a Health Extension Program (HEP).

The rate of child deaths fell by 30 percent between 2005 and 2011.

Infant mortality decreased by 23 percent, from 77 to 59 deaths per 1,000 births, while under-five mortality decreased by 28 percent, from 123 to 88 per 1,000 births.

The number of expectant mothers who delivered with the help of a skilled provider rose from 6 percent in 2005 to 10 percent in 2011, according to the 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey.

During Tedros's tenure as Minister of Health, tuberculosis prevention and treatment services were included as one of the packages of Health Extension Workers, which has resulted in improvements in performance and the achievement of the tuberculosis Millennium Development Goals (MDG) ahead of the target date.

Deaths from malaria fell by more than 50% from 2005 to 2007.

He was chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (2007–2009), a member of the Programme Coordinating Board of UNAIDS from 2009 to 2010 and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria from 2009 to 2011 and co-chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (2005–2009).

He also served as a member of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) Board as well as the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board.

He was also a member of several academic and global health think tanks including the Aspen Institute and Harvard School of Public Health.

He served as vice-president of the 60th World Health Assembly that was held on 14–23 May 2007.

From 2008 until 2009, he was a member of the High Level Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems, co-chaired by Gordon Brown and Robert Zoellick.

In July 2009, Tedros was elected board chair of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for a two-year term.

In 2010 the US State Department named Ethiopia as one of the US Global Health Initiative Plus countries, providing the country with greater access to resources for public health projects.

During his time as Minister of Health of Ethiopia, Tedros was very active in global health initiatives.

Ethiopia was the first country to sign a compact with the International Health Partnership.

In a profile published in April 2010, The Lancet reported that Tedros was "a household name at the Global Fund Secretariat" before his election as board chair where his leadership was regularly cited at the Global Fund that resulted in Ethiopia being named as an exemplary high-performing country.

Tedros oversaw a program introducing 30,000 health extension workers, focused on reducing maternal mortality and child mortality.

A 2011 Demographic Health Survey suggests these efforts reduced Ethiopian infant mortality from 123 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2006 to 88 in 2011.

As Minister of Health, Tedros formed relationships with figures and organizations including former American president Bill Clinton, his Clinton Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Tedros was included in Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

Tedros was born in Asmara, Ethiopia, to Adhanom Gebreyesus and Melashu Weldegabir.

His family originated from the Enderta awrajja of Tigray.

Tedros recalled that as a child he was very aware of the suffering and death caused by malaria.

His younger brother died at the age of three or four years, possibly of a preventable disease like measles, which Tedros often discusses as a defining personal experience in regards to the need for global healthcare.