At the 75th session of the World Health Assembly yesterday, the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) re-elected Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as director general of the WHO. France congratulates Dr. Tedros and sends him our best wishes for a successful second term at the helm of the organization.
France will support the director general's efforts to strengthen the WHO and the multilateral health architecture at a time when the Covid-19 epidemic has demonstrated the absolute need to reinforce international health security and meet the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. This is one of France's priorities for its presidency of the Council of the European Union. To this end, I would like to remind you that this past February, France hosted the very first meeting of foreign ministers and health ministers of EU member states in Lyon.
In an effort to carry out its mission effectively, the WHO also needs sustainable and predictable funding. We therefore commend the WHO member states on the agreement that they signed to improve the organization's funding. France has doubled its financial contribution to the WHO since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.