NEW DELHI: Comptroller and auditor general Rajiv Mehrishi has been elected the external auditor of World Health Organisation for a four-year term from 2020 to 2023, beating auditors of the UK, France, Northern Ireland, Tunisia, Ghana and Congo who competed for the position.

The election was held at the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 23, where the CAG was elected with a majority (90 out of 162 votes) in the first round of voting itself.

This is the second major international audit assignment for the CAG this year following his selection as the external auditor for Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome in March. The CAG is also on the Board of Auditors of the United Nations and vice-chair of the UN panel of external auditors.

The CAG has been playing an important role internationally. Recently, Mehrishi had attended the 6th Global Audit Leadership Forum in Shanghai, a select group of national auditors from 24 countries, who meet annually to discuss current and emerging issues of concern and explore opportunities to share information and work.

Discussions at the 6th GALF meeting focused on big data and auditing and improving public accountability through environmental auditing. Delegates from 15 countries, including India, participated in the meeting.

On environmental auditing, the global auditors felt the need for collaborative audits in areas such as climate change, disaster preparedness and management, water management including allocation and quality of water, air quality etc. The next meeting of GALF will be hosted by the CAG in 2020.

