(Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus moved closer to serving a second term after securing the group’s nomination.

The WHO’s executive board’s nomination on Tuesday paves the way for his official reappointment in May. A director-general can be reappointed once, meaning Tedros is eligible for an additional term of five years. Tedros was the only candidate to be proposed.  

The Ethiopian head of the WHO has taken center stage since the coronavirus emerged in China, working with scientists and governments to curb the pathogen’s spread and understand its origins. 

Last year, as countries around the world ramped up inoculations, Tedros repeatedly lashed out at wealthy countries and vaccine manufacturers for doing too little to distribute life-saving shots to poorer nations. The WHO lacks the authority to compel nations to follow its guidance.

Tedros has also been criticized throughout the pandemic. In early 2020, the WHO was slow to call the outbreak a pandemic and to emphasize the airborne nature of transmission. It also initially pushed back in recommending the widespread use of face masks. And when it came to investigating the virus’s origins, it faced claims that it wasn’t pushing China hard enough.

More recently, the WHO has warned that countries shouldn’t abandon public health measures as the pandemic isn’t over yet and the situation remains unpredictable. An increasing number of governments around the world are pushing to adapt to living with Covid, which they say is showing signs of becoming endemic. 

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