By Caribbean News Global 
TORONTO, Canada — Saint Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister Ralph Gonsalves on Friday, April 29, reiterated support for Taiwan’s inclusion in global organizations ahead of his scheduled visit in August, and more importantly, World Health Assembly, May 22-28, 2022.
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The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the executive board. The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the director-general, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget. The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.
Taiwan established diplomatic relations with St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in 1981. Prime minister Gonsalves has noted that SVG desires to strengthen relations with Taiwan through more visits by key political figures.
On April 28, the prime minister wrote to the head of the World Health Organization urging Taiwan’s inclusion in this year’s World Health Assembly. #WHA75
In a recent interview with Saint Vincentian radio station Star FM, Gonsalves mentioned that Taiwan is allowed in the World Trade Organization but still banned from participating in many other global organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization and Interpol.
“Do you see the double standards and the hypocrisy?” Prime minister Gonsalves said Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will continue to speak out about these issues. And emphasized that SVG wants “peace, prosperity, and security for all, not just some.”
Last November, World Health Organization Secretariat announced that the appointment of the next director-general of the WHO will take place at the 75th World Health Assembly in May 2022. #WHA75.
The election process began when Member States, through a circular letter sent by the WHO Secretariat in April 2021, were invited to submit proposals for candidates for the director-general position. The deadline for submission of proposals was September 23, 2021.
During the 150th session of the executive board in January 2022, the board conduct an initial screening to ensure that the candidate meets the criteria decided by the Health Assembly, interviews and then decides on the nomination by secret ballot. The nomination will be submitted to WHA75.
The appointment will take place at #WHA75 in May 2022, also by secret ballot. The term of office of the next director-general will start on August 16, 2022.
A director-general can be re-appointed once. Therefore, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the incumbent director-general, is eligible to be proposed for a second term of five years.
