Health Minister Chris Fearne has been nominated for president of the upcoming seventy-sixth World Health Assembly being held in Geneva in May.

The nomination by World Health Organisation regional director Hans Kluge was endorsed by the Standing Committee of the Regional Committee of Europe last month.

In a post on Monday, Fearne said he was honoured to accept the post, which he will hold for a year.

Fearne will continue as deputy prime minister and health minister. 

The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO member states and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the organisation, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.

The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland and will this year be held between 21 and 30 May.

“I am honoured to accept the nomination of President of the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization - a demonstration of confidence in the Maltese health system. Meanwhile, my work in Malta continues,” he wrote on Facebook.

Last year, Fearne had been appointed the vice-chair of the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance while in 2020 he had been elected to the board of the One Health Global Leaders Group, which advises international health organisations such as the WHO and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation.