She is the rising star of the world's global health body, hotly tipped in many quarters to be the next director-general of the World Health Organisation. But Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun yesterday seemed undaunted by the weight of expectation as she launched the manifesto that would underpin her campaign for the top job.
The seven-page policy document was released from Geneva yesterday - 40 days after Beijing announced her candidacy and on the final day for filing nominations.
Now a public health specialist, the 60-year-old obstetrician and former school teacher is among at least 10 contenders vying to succeed Lee Jong-wook, of South Korea, who died suddenly in May at the age of 61. Lee spent three years of a five-year term at the head of the UN health agency.
Some pundits have played down the importance of platforms in the election, suggesting that the battle would be decided simply by how many votes each candidate wins among the 34 WHO member states represented on the organisation's elite executive board.
But perhaps a key factor will be how China and Dr Chan fare in the behind-the-scenes jockeying for votes in the run-up to the elections, to be held from November 6 to 9. Dr Chan's personal merits will be weighed and measured against the other runners to decide the best placed to run the 58-year-old UN health agency.
Dr Chan outlined her policies in a teleconference for Hong Kong media from Geneva, during a rare stop-over in a campaign that began after Beijing declared her candidacy on July 25. After yesterday's press briefing, Dr Chan was preparing to visit more of the 34 member states in a tour that has already taken her to Africa and Europe.
