{
  "id": 9929703,
  "title": "Saudi candidate among five vying for WHO director-general post",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/saudi-candidate-among-five-vying-for-who-director-general-post",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-26T06:50:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ajel English",
    "slug": "ajel-english",
    "url": "https://english.ajel.sa/world/116tl6u5y"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Five candidates are vying for the position of World Health Organization director-general, succeeding Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The candidates hail from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Belgium, Spain, and Indonesia. Hanan Balkhy, from Saudi Arabia, heads the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, from Qatar, served as a former health minister. Hans Kluge, a Belgian physician and current WHO regional director for Europe, is also in the running. Maria Neira, a doctor, epidemiologist, and former WHO director from Spain, and Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Indonesia’s health minister, complete the list of candidates.",
  "summary": "Candidates from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Belgium, Spain, and Indonesia are competing to succeed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as head of the World Health Organization.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}