Quotes from Tedros Adhanom

While WHO has never had a director from Africa, no one should elect me because I am from Africa.

Soon after joining the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia, I was called upon as part of team to respond to a malaria outbreak. My team was dispatched to a village in southwestern Ethiopia, where I not only observed the malaria epidemic's shocking effects on adults and children but also experienced it first-hand.

I think the world should unite and focus on strong health systems to prepare the whole world to prevent epidemics - or if there is an outbreak, to manage it quickly - because viruses don't respect borders, and they don't need visas.

Early in my career, I was galvanized by a disease that ravaged my country and many others around the world: malaria.