Key facts
- Indonesia's health minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, is a candidate for WHO director-general.
- Sadikin urged the US to rejoin the World Health Organization.
- He stated that the US withdrawal impacted the WHO's budget.
- Sadikin believes global health security requires international cooperation.
- He called for WHO reform to focus on its core scientific mandate.
- The WHO director-general vote is expected in May next year.
Indonesia's health minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, who is seeking to lead the World Health Organization, has called for the United States to rejoin the agency. The US officially withdrew from the WHO at the start of the year under President Donald Trump, who accused the organization of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic, a claim the WHO denies.
Sadikin, one of six candidates for the director-general position, stated in an interview that "Many member states feel that the US should be back. The US should be back," adding that it is "scientifically impossible" to manage pandemics alone. He noted that he knows US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally.
Other candidates, such as Saudi physician Hanan Balkhy who holds dual US citizenship, are also seen as potential bridge-builders with the United States. Sadikin, who was appointed health minister in 2020 and led Indonesia's COVID vaccination drive, is unique among the candidates as he does not have a background in the health sector or prior experience at the WHO.
He highlighted that the WHO's budget was slashed following the US withdrawal and suggested the agency could leverage development banks like the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to support national health plans. Sadikin also indicated that many member states feel global health institutions are too directed by Geneva and called for the WHO to reform and focus on its core mandate of setting science-based norms and standards. He believes regaining member trust is more important than budget concerns, stating the agency "has done too many things."
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto nominated Sadikin for the leadership race. The WHO is expected to announce all nominations later this month, with a vote scheduled for May next year.