Today, differing health conditions are changing the requirements of the global response, like shifting focus to preventing and responding to non-communicable diseases like cancer and diabetes, which are responsible for every 7 out of 10 deaths globally today. WHO’s immense responsibility in meeting modern health challenges across the world requires strong leadership focused on delivering value for money and updating the system to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. WHO Director General candidate Dr David Nabarro sat down with us to explain how the WHO would modernise under his leadership, and why this modernisation is so important for the future.