Harsh Vardhan takes over as WHO executive board chief

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday took charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO)'s 34-member executive board at its 147th session to become the third Indian to currently occupy a senior position in the global health agency.

Vardhan will chair meetings of the board but the assignment isn't a full-time one. He will be chairman for a year.

The other Indians in senior roles at WHO are Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist, WHO Geneva, and Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, who is serving her second five-year term as the regional director, South East Asia Region, which is one of six WHO regions.