Mónica García takes up her new post on the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation

Meeting of the World Health Assembly, at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva

The Minister for Health, Mónica García, at the World Health Assembly, which is being held at the UN headquarters in Geneva, has been officially appointed as a new member of the Executive Board of the WHO. "It is an immense honour for Spain to be part of this governing body again after more than 20 years," she said during the inauguration ceremony.

The first thing she underlined was that "we are doing so at a critical moment for global health, marked by two extremely serious events: the departure of the US from this institution, which weakens multilateralism at a crucial time, and the brutal massacre in Gaza, which has triggered an unprecedented health emergency".

She stressed that "this appointment is, therefore, not only an enormous responsibility, but also an opportunity to redouble Spain's commitment to the WHO, just when others choose to close the door on it. It is a commitment to public health, scientific evidence and the certainty that no one is saved until everyone is safe". She also affirmed that "Spain will make every effort necessary in the humanitarian response in Gaza, and in the defence of the right to health as an inseparable part of human rights".

The health minister's aim is to "humbly join in the collective task of redesigning global health for the next 25 years. And to do so by means of listening, commitment and the vocation to build bridges. Spain demonstrated this during the negotiation of the pandemic agreement, working consistently, with loyalty to all partners, and helping to bring the global north and south closer together".

Last, she stressed that "we do so with the backing of a health system that guarantees universal health coverage, our greatest tool for equity and our main letter of introduction to the world: a sign of identity that speaks of who we are and what we stand for". The Executive Board's main function is to implement the decisions and policies established by the Health Assembly, as well as to serve as an advisory body and to facilitate its work. This application particularly concerns a post in Group B of the European regional committee of the WHO, which is one of the three European zones.

The WHO Executive Board is composed of 34 members technically qualified in the field of health. Its members are elected for three-year terms. The Council meets twice a year. The first and longer one takes place in January. It sets the agenda for the Health Assembly and votes on resolutions to be presented to the Health Assembly. The second, a shorter, administrative meeting, is held in May, immediately after the Health Assembly.

The World Health Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the WHO. It meets in Geneva in May each year and is attended by delegations from member states. This Assembly is of historic importance, as member states adopted by consensus the first Agreement on Pandemics at global level. The agreement sets out the principles, approaches and tools needed to improve international coordination in a wide range of areas to strengthen the global health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, including equitable and timely access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics.

Non official translation