01.05.2017
Open letter to WHO DG candidates: keep policy and priority setting free of commercial influence

The Lancet "In May, 2017, WHO Member States will meet in Geneva for the 70th World Health Assembly (WHA) and a new WHO Director-General (DG) will be elected. As public-interest non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in global health governance and the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, we believe that a fundamental consideration for Member States when electing the DG will be how the new leadership will ensure appropriate interactions with alcohol, food, pharmaceutical, and medical technology industries.

We invite the three candidates to describe what steps they commit to take to ensure greater transparency, rigor, and public scrutiny of WHO's policy and regulatory and norm-setting activities so that they are adequately protected from undue commercial interests." (Photo: WHO Director-General Chan at WHA/ United States Mission Geneva/flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)