Indonesia’s Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin is campaigning to become the World Health Organization’s (WHO) first director-general from Southeast Asia, aiming to bring fresh perspectives to the agency’s leadership. At 62, Budi is the only candidate from the region among six contenders vying to succeed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose second term as WHO chief ends in August 2027.
In an interview in Jakarta on September 29, Budi emphasized the need for WHO to better address the diverse health priorities of its 194 member states. Over the past three months, he engaged with more than 70 health ministers from ASEAN, Africa, and Latin America to understand their views on potential reforms. Common concerns included the organization’s broad and often overstretched mandate, financing challenges, and the desire for member states to have greater influence over priority-setting rather than directives imposed from WHO headquarters in Geneva.
“The first message from the majority is no, WHO should focus on its core mandate. Don’t do too many things because if you do too many things, you achieve nothing,” Budi said. He stressed that while WHO’s fundamental role remains the development of scientific norms and standards and facilitating cooperation among governments and organizations, health priorities vary widely among countries. For instance, aging populations in countries like Singapore face concerns such as dementia and menopause, whereas others continue to battle infectious diseases like tuberculosis and Ebola.
Budi advocates for a system that empowers member states to define their own health priorities with WHO’s full backing, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach dictated from Geneva. He clarified that this does not imply decentralizing WHO itself but rather increasing local leadership in determining support needs.
Transparency and the appointment process within WHO have come under scrutiny recently, notably with the resignation of Saima Wazed, former Southeast Asia regional director, amid fraud investigations that she denied. Budi noted some ministers’ worries about political appointments replacing scientific and technical experts in key roles.
Financing global health responses also remains a significant challenge. Budi highlighted WHO’s expanding role in helping developing countries formulate credible health plans and engage finance ministries and development banks. He noted that recipient countries often have less influence over funding decisions than donors, a dynamic he argues needs rebalancing, especially for nations in the Global South facing aid reductions.
Budi’s candidacy faces competition from seasoned public health professionals, including Saudi Arabia’s Hanlan Balkhy, Belgium’s Hans Kluge, Qatar’s former health minister Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari, Spain’s Maria Neira, and Armenian paediatric oncologist Gevorg Tamamyan.
Nominations for the WHO director-general position closed on September 24, with the official candidate list to be announced after the final regional committee meeting on October 29. The WHO executive board will narrow down the candidates to three in January 2027, before member states vote at the World Health Assembly in May.
Budi acknowledged the intense diplomatic effort required, spending much of his time traveling and meeting health ministers, often accompanied by Indonesian ambassadors. While recognizing concerns that financial inducements—referred to in Indonesia as “money politics”—could influence votes, he rejected such tactics, underscoring his commitment to a merit-based selection.
Originally reluctant to seek the role, Budi said he accepted the campaign after encouragement from close associates, motivated by the chance to impact global health beyond Indonesia’s 280 million population to the world’s 8 billion.
If elected, Budi said he would miss Indonesian cuisine and the warmth of Asian communities but looked forward to continuing relationships, including with Singapore’s health minister Ong Ye Kung, whom he counts among his closest regional colleagues.