LONDON, Dhu-AlQa'dah 14, 1437, August 17, 2016, SPA -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday appointed the philanthropist and former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg as a global health ambassador to help governments tackle chronic diseases such as diabetes, stroke, cancer and heart disease, according to Reuters. Bloomberg, who has a track record in public health policies such as tobacco control, soda taxes and injury prevention, will work with national and local politicians to highlight the heavy economic and health burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), United Nations health agency said. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said Bloomberg's appointment would enable governments to "strengthen our response together" to these "major public health challenges". WHO global ambassador roles are for an initial period of two years and are unpaid. --SPA 22:47 LOCAL TIME 19:47 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w