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Hello, this is Kasmira. It was only a matter of time – or strategic timing – before another candidate entered the fray for the UN top job. A prominent figure on the diplomatic circuit, Ecuador's María Fernanda Espinosa has stepped up to the challenge.

Meanwhile, in another leadership race closer to home, Geneva Health Files founder Priti Patnaik takes a look at what's in store for candidates vying to become the next head of the World Health Organization. And the UN Environment Programme warns of an unsustainable “sand gap”.

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Kasmira Jefford

13.05.2026


On our radar


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Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, former president of the UN General Assembly, speaking at a press conference in Geneva, on 23 October, 2018. (Keystone/Salvatore Di Nolfi)

Former Ecuadorian foreign minister becomes third woman in UN leadership race. Antigua and Barbuda has officially nominated María Fernanda Espinosa to be the next secretary general of the United Nations, making the Ecuadorian diplomat and former politician the fifth candidate to join the race.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Here’s what else is happening


What they think


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❝The next WHO leader will need to be a multitasking political acrobat. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s successor will need a strong strategy and their political wits about them to address member state defections, shaky financial prospects and an expanding to-do list of global health issues, writes Priti Patnaik, founder of Geneva Health Files.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

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