In an example of the adage, "Be careful what you wish for," China's choice for WHO Director General, Dr. Margaret Chan, is already finding her reputation will be held hostage to the behavior of China itself, not an enviable position.
The new chief of the World Health Organisation, Margaret Chan of China, pledged to put her nationality aside and to use her leverage on Beijing to combat major threats such as bird flu."Now I'm elected as the WHO's Director General I no longer carry my nationality on my sleeve. I leave it behind," she told reporters after her nomination was endorsed by more than two-thirds of the 193 member states.
It is the first time that a Chinese national has headed a United Nations agency. Chan's candidacy was officially sponsored by Beijing.
However, the former Hong Kong health chief insisted she had taken an oath to serve the world and signalled her determination to wipe out weak spots in global disease surveillance.
"I will speak up if some members states need to strengthen their effort and in this case if you are referring to China I will definitely speak out and urge China... to share information," Chan told journalists.
Her nomination had prompted calls for independence and transparency at the top of the global health agency, following concern about China's secrecy in tackling infectious disease inside the nation of 1.3 billion people.
"Being a Chinese national appointed by the WHO as Director General, of all people I hope I will have better access to various senior levels of the government and (tell) them what are issues of importance to the world," Chan explained. (AFP)
This is a dilemma for both China and for Chan. China is used to doing whatever China wants to do (if it can get away with it). But no matter how much it tries to control it, information inevitably gets out. When that happens it makes China look bad, and it makes China's choice, Chan, look bad.
WHO has frequently complained publicly about China's failure to share viral isolates with the world scientific community. China is not alone in its failure to share. The US has still to make many of its flu sequences publicly available, as well. But China's deceit and cover-up in the 2003 SARS outbreak has deservedly made it a special case, and there is not much confidence in many quarters it has reformed except to try not to get caught next time.
The latest example has been the flap over the recent PNAS paper on the Fujian-like strain, a paper that Chinese scientists are bitterly disputing.
Henk Bekedam, WHO's representative for China, said that instead of battling it out in the media, scientists from the Chinese government, Hong Kong and elsewhere should sit down and study the details.
"This is an ideal opportunity to get a better idea what is happening in China and assess strategies that have been effective and develop even more targeted strategies if there is a need," he said. (Reuters)
Rather than issue denials and accusations in the newspapers, Bekedam, added, this was an opportunity to sit down and share actual data. In the past, these complaints have made little difference in China's behavior. Now Chan is promising to use her rapport and knowledge of the Chinese leadership to effect some improvement. In a hopeful development today, WHO is reporting 20 isolates from 2004/2005 were being sent to US CDC from the Chinese Agriculture Ministry. WHO's Bekedam also reiterated apologies for lack of credit given to the Ministry in the past (Reuters), a move we interpret as allowing Agriculture Minister Jia to save face after being forced to release the isolates.
Is this an early sign Chan's new position will help with the China problem? We hope so. It could just be China's initial concession to dampen anxieties about her independence as she takes over the helm. We'll have to see. Chan is now in the position that her credibility is tied to the credibility of the Chinese government.
As we said at the beginning of this post, "Be careful what you wish for."
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Chan is perfect to guarantee the WHO becomes and instrument in death in Africa. Please see the information below.
Untreatable TB a 'threat to millions in Africa'
By Mike Pflanz in Nairobi
Last Updated: 2:51am GMT 10/11/2006
Untreatable new strains of tuberculosis spreading unchecked through Africa could kill millions of people and reverse years of costly efforts to keep HIV patients alive, doctors have said.
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are reporting increasing numbers of cases of drug-resistant versions of the deadly disease and they fear that these are only the tip of the iceberg.
If these strains take hold, even the newest and most expensive drugs will be virtually useless as patients already weakened by HIV fall prey to the new TB.
WHO, under the guidance of people like Chan, is a death machine. Those in power protect corporate profits first, and protect the health of the poor last. Chan will conceal the spread of MDR-TB and XDR-TB across Africa in order to protect the tourist industries.
Just as she stonewalled the release of Avain strains in China, she will do what she is told to do by the governments of Africa, and stonewall an epidemic which will soon become a pandemic of XDR-TB.
We are in a post anti-biotic age, naked and defenseless against this plague, just as those in Europe duirng the middle ages were defenseless against the black death.
Enjoy watching the planet self destruct as people like Chan, who are psychopaths, count her money as poor people die like flies.
And XDR-TB will be tapping you on the sholder in the superpower that is America, so be ready to die.
Hi William. Why are you not worried about H5N1 anymore?