MUNICH – Indonesia has finally officially nominated Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin as a candidate for Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). His name appeared on the official WHO election website last weekend, becoming the fourth candidate listed, about one month before the nomination period closes on September 24, 2026.
He is competing against Dr Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari, nominated by Qatar; Dr Hanan Balkhy, nominated by Saudi Arabia; and Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, nominated by Belgium. The WHO has confirmed that all four are still considered prospective candidates, meaning the list is not yet final, and their status will be updated once all official nominations have been published.
This election is taking place at what is arguably the worst moment in the global health organization’s financial history. The United States’ withdrawal in January 2025 left a funding shortfall that, according to a Health Policy Watch report, reached one billion U.S. dollars in November 2025 and has since shrunk to around 640 million dollars. As of this writing, Washington still owes more than 260 million dollars in unpaid dues. The 2026–2027 budget of 4.2 billion dollars has already been slashed by more than 1.1 billion dollars, and the number of staff has decreased by a quarter over the past year.
A banker in a position typically held by doctors
Budi Sadikin is an anomaly in the history of this position. This is also the case now that he has taken on the role of Indonesia’s Minister of Health. He is a nuclear physicist who built his career in banking, leading Bank Mandiri since 2013, then serving as Group CEO of Inalum, before being appointed Minister of Health in December 2020 at the height of the pandemic. All previous WHO Directors-General were doctors, with the exception of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who holds a master’s degree in infectious diseases. Tedros is not a doctor either; rather, his career began as a biologist and immunologist from Ethiopia.
The lack of a clinical background is actually viewed by several analysts monitoring information from Geneva as a “beneficial” anomaly. Some analysts believe that public legitimacy for the WHO could decline as the organization’s decisions increasingly rely on complex and multipolar scientific claims. However, other analysts view this situation from a different perspective. According to them, the WHO’s current crisis is not primarily a crisis of medical knowledge, but rather a budgetary and financial crisis. These internal conditions, in turn, affect the organization’s capacity to conduct global health diplomacy. In this context, Budi Sadikin is seen as having an advantage because his experience in managing fiscal issues and cash flow could be a unique selling point in the eyes of donor countries that are increasingly demanding financial discipline.
One of the diplomatic credentials Budi Sadikin has established is his role as one of the architects of the Pandemic Fund, launched in Bali in 2022 under Indonesia’s G20 presidency. European sources cited by Health Policy Watch note that he has secured support from Japan and India and is positioned as a bridge between the Global South’s demands for equity and Europe’s demands for transparency.
His strategic position is also linked to Indonesia’s shift toward joining the WPRO (Western Pacific Region) two years ago.
His domestic track record has sparked controversy, although some of his supporters view the major changes in medical education as a “healthcare reform.” Most notable is his effort to reform medical education, which he is pushing through the 2023 Health Law—a move that has drawn opposition from the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), particularly regarding the shift of specialty training to hospitals and the opening of the door to foreign doctors. This could provide his rivals in Geneva with ammunition to question just how smoothly this “health reform” is proceeding.
Analysts will be watching one more thing closely. Indonesia is set to contribute approximately 30 million U.S. dollars in voluntary funding to the WHO in July 2026. As if that weren’t enough, Tedros also posted a public endorsement for Budi Sadikin on LinkedIn a month before his name was included on the list of potential candidates. While the campaign rules published this year require candidates and member states to report campaign activities and funding sources, the mechanism relies on self-reporting without independent audits. Consequently, this will certainly be highlighted by analysts in Geneva.
Image: Screenshot from Tedros’s LinkedIn account expressing gratitude to Indonesia. (Source: LinkedIn, Tedros)
Two Candidates, One Region
Good news for Jakarta comes from the Gulf region. Balkhy and Al-Kuwari both hail from the Eastern Mediterranean region, a region that has never held the position of Director-General. The presence of these two candidates creates a competitive landscape that is unfavorable for securing votes during the election.
Balkhy is the Regional Director of EMRO, a pediatrician born in the United States who completed his residency there. This background has led some circles to tout him as the candidate most likely to pave the way for Washington’s return. His weakness lies in having served only about two years in his current role, compounded by resistance from some WHO member states regarding Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Issues surrounding human rights and women’s rights could once again be used to block a candidate from this country.
Meanwhile, Al-Kuwari brings a different set of credentials—and may prove a tougher opponent for his rivals. He served as Qatar’s Minister of Public Health for eight years until November 2024, led the Hamad Medical Corporation for 17 years, and chaired the 153rd Session of the WHO Executive Board when the general work program GPW14 was finalized. The advantage many analysts highlight is that he has a deeper understanding of the WHO’s internal governance structure. The “insider” label can easily be applied to him rather than to Balkhy and Budi Sadikin
Unless Riyadh and Doha agree to withdraw one of their candidates before January 2027, both risk cannibalizing each other’s votes at the most critical stage.
Another potential candidate featured on the WHO website is a longtime veteran of the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Hans Kluge, the Regional Director for Europe who has been on leave from his post since August 21, has the longest track record in crisis management among the other potential candidates. Kluge’s experience spans the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and refugee flows. Given the breadth of his professional experience, analysts note that there are other obstacles of a more “diplomatic arithmetic” nature. As Belgium’s proposed candidate, he faces another reality: Belgium has just placed former Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in the position of UNDP Administrator. The presence of two top UN posts held by a single “small” European country is a difficult and unpopular position amid growing concerns over epistemic injustice, health inequities, and multipolar diplomacy.
A Complex Competition
So far, it appears this competition—involving four potential candidates—will prompt many analysts to carefully assess the power dynamics at play. Coverage in Jakarta is unlikely to feature Budi Sadikin as a top headline, given that the Indonesian public is currently grappling with a crisis of legitimacy and trust in state and political authorities.
The 34-member Executive Board will convene from January 25 to February 2, 2027, to narrow down the candidates to a maximum of three names through a secret ballot. Only then, at the 80th World Health Assembly in May 2027, will approximately 194 countries vote on the principle of “one country, one vote.”
Indonesia’s regional classification has recently changed. On May 23, 2025, through a consensus at the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA), Indonesia officially moved from the Southeast Asia Region to the Western Pacific Region. Several media outlets have noted that this reassignment is driven by epidemiological considerations and strategic global health cooperation, as stated by the Ministry of Health.
As a result of this regional realignment, Budi Sadikin’s candidacy is bolstered by the WPRO bloc, which now holds five seats, including those of Japan, South Korea, and China. However, on the other hand, the Western Pacific region has already produced three directors-general: Hiroshi Nakajima, Lee Jong-wook, and Margaret Chan. The growing claim for regional rotation now lies with the two Gulf candidates, as the Eastern Mediterranean region has also never held this key position.
The configuration of votes and support will first become clear at the first candidates’ forum scheduled for November 18, 2026. It is there that substantive differences will first become apparent, particularly regarding an issue that all parties have so far “avoided”—namely, the continuation of the PABS amendment (Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing) within the 2025 Pandemic Agreement, whose negotiations remain protracted and have yet to reach a consensus.
The overall outcome leading up to the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) session will determine the final candidate to succeed Tedros. The winner of this crucial position will take office on August 16, 2027, one day after Tedros’s term ends. One thing is certain: he will inherit an organization that is smaller, poorer, and more divided than any his predecessors have ever faced. ( )
Ilham A. Ridlo is an assistant professor and public health researcher who focuses on evidence utilization, evaluation, and science communication in the context of health and public policy through a journalistic approach. He regularly writes about science literacy, public health, and the importance of transparency in research practices through open science.
