Geneva, May 18, 2026 (PAHO) – Dr. Víctor Atallah, Minister of Health of the Dominican Republic, assumed the presidency of the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA79) this Monday, as the World Health Organization’s (WHO) highest decision-making body opened in Geneva.
According to WHO rules of procedure, the presidency rotates among the Organization’s six regions. This year, the Region of the Americas is responsible for leading the Assembly. It is the first time that the Dominican Republic has assumed the presidency of the World Health Assembly.
Dr. Atallah will preside over the work of WHA79, which is being held from May 18–23 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, guiding the deliberations of delegations from more than 190 Member States.
“I accept this responsibility with a sense of humility, but also with a sense of direct commitment to all regions and to the global community,” he stated during the meeting of Heads of Delegation from the Americas prior to being named President of the Assembly. “From the Presidency, the Dominican Republic is here for you and sincerely thanks you for the honor of placing your trust in us to preside over this Assembly.”
“As the international health agency specialized in the Americas, PAHO welcomes the region’s assumption of the presidency of the World Health Assembly and stands ready to support a successful Assembly that delivers concrete progress for the countries and communities of our region,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and WHO Regional Director for the Americas.
The Assembly will address a broad agenda that includes strengthening health systems and primary health care, universal health coverage, emergency preparedness and response, noncommunicable diseases, mental health, and antimicrobial resistance.
Other priorities include sustainable financing for global health, efforts to strengthen the global health architecture, the relationship between climate change and health, and negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
Countries in the Americas that have previously held the presidency of the World Health Assembly include Trinidad and Tobago (1978), Mexico (1987), Ecuador (1990), Argentina (1996), El Salvador (2002), Guyana (2008), Cuba (2014), and The Bahamas (2020).
