WHO AFRO: Looking for a leader: Next year, African nations will select a new leader to head WHO's offi ce in the region. What legacy will he or she inherit from the current director? Udani Samarasekera reports.

摘要

WHO'S Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) is at a turning point. At their 64th committee session in the second half of 2014, the 46 member states of the WHO African region will nominate a new Regional Director (RD) to lead the office when the second term of the current incumbent, Luis Gomes Sambo, comes to an end. Sambo, an Angolan public health specialist and a longstanding WHO employee, became director in February, 2005, and was re-appointedto serve another 5-yearterm from February, 2010. Under WHO rules, RDs can only have two terms in office, meaning a new leader should take the helm in February, 2015. As WHO AFRO enters a period of transition, The Lancet asked experts about the organisation and what Sambo has achieved during his 10-year directorship.