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Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh nominated again as Regional Director WHO SEA

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Dr Khetrapal Singh’s candidature was unopposed by the 11 member countries of WHO South-East Asia Region that met at the ongoing regional committee session

Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh was recently nominated for a second five-year term as Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia.

Congratulating Dr Khetrapal Singh, India’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare, JP Nadda, and chair of the regional committee meeting, said, “With her contribution to regional as well as global initiatives and outstanding work in placing health central to the agenda of sustainable development, she will surely lead the region to greater heights.”

The leadership provided by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh has seen the WHO South-East Asia Region emerge as the top performer in the organisation globally. Her commitment to the public health agenda in the member states is reflected in the achievements in all the flagship priorities of the region, he said.

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said, “As the first woman to become Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia Region, she has provided dynamic leadership in a region that accounts for one quarter of the world’s population, but a disproportionate burden of its diseases.”

Thanking the member states for nominating her for the second term, Dr Khetrapal Singh said, “My vision is to consolidate, accelerate and innovate to further strengthen progress in the priority areas and translate vision into action.”

Dr Khetrapal Singh’s ongoing first term as Regional Director began on February 1, 2014, during which, in consultation with the member countries she identified seven flagship priorities some of them being achieving universal health coverage; strengthening emergency response capacity; reversing the noncommunicable disease epidemics; preventing maternal, under-5 and neonatal deaths, etc.

As per WHO procedures, the WHO Executive Board, which next meets in Geneva in January 2019 is expected to confirm Dr Khetrapal Singh’s nomination and appoint her as the Regional Director. Dr Khetrapal Singh will commence her next five-year term on 1 February 2019.

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