The World Health Organization has appointed the leading Saudi public health expert Dr Hanan Balkhi as Regional Director of its Eastern Mediterranean Office after a vote from member states at the organization’s regional committee meeting in Cairo. She is the first woman to be appointed to this position. She will assume the post on 1 February 2024 for a period of five years.
The region comprises some of the world’s richest countries – Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman – and the poorest – Afghanistan, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia. Iran, Iraq and Pakistan are all part of the region WHO EMR region.
Dr Balkhi is a Saudi scientist and an international expert in her field. For more the 25 years, she has worked in public health and communicable diseases, during which time she has acquired comprehensive expertise in managing disease outbreaks.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery from King Abdulaziz University and a fellowship in the field of paediatric infectious diseases from Case Western Reserve University.
In Saudi Arabia, she has held the position of Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the King Abdulaziz Medical Center, and Head of the Infectious Diseases Department at the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center. During her distinguished career, Dr Balkhi was appointed Assistant Director-General of WHO for Antimicrobial Resistance in Geneva in May 2019.
Dr Balkhi has held many leadership positions that contributed to the formulation and implementation of health policies that have a direct impact on public health. As part of her work, she ran a national research programme promoting the “One Health” concept.
She received significant awards including the International Researcher Award, Senior Leadership and Scientific Research Award, and the SHEA-APIC Partnership Award.
