WHO candidate Gevorg Tamamyan: ‘Geography must not decide who lives’

Send us Fan Mail In episode four of our series interviewing candidates for director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), we talk to Gevorg Tamamyan. This series is in partnership with the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Tamamyan is professor of paediatric oncology at Yerevan state medical university and he has spent his career treating children with cancer. In his native Armenia, he has seen survival rates rise, by raising the funds to ensure his patients have the same access to medicines as those in wealthier countries like Switzerland. If he succeeds in becoming WHO director-general, he wants to tackle health inequity across the board. “People are dying not because of lack of knowledge or science, but because of lack of equity and a lack of access,” he tells us. He sees the Covid-19 pandemic as a prime example of what’s wrong. “In 2021, out of 8 billion vaccine doses, only 3% went to Africa, while other countries were already rolling out booster doses.” He knows the WHO faces big challenges, but believes positive reform can guarantee its future. “I'm convinced that the world is much better with the WHO than without it.” Listen to the full interview and subscribe to our Inside Geneva podcast.  Get in touch! Email us at [email protected] Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter.  For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/ Host: Imogen Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang