Dr Peter Salama is
the Executive Director of the Division of Universal Health Coverage at the
World Health Organization since March 2019. From 2016 to 2019, Dr Salama
was WHO’s founding Executive Director for Emergency Preparedness and Response,
responsible for work in preventing, detecting, and responding to outbreaks and
emergencies from all types of hazards. Prior to WHO,
Dr Salama spent 15 years with UNICEF, where he served as Regional Director for
the Middle-East and North Africa, country representative in Ethiopia and
Zimbabwe, Chief of Immunization, Principal Advisor for HIV/AIDS, and Chief of
Global Health in New York. Dr Salama began his international career with
the NGOs Concern and Medecins Sans Frontieres. Dr Salama has published extensively
on malnutrition and famine, vaccine-preventable diseases, maternal and child
health, patterns of violence and mortality in warfare, and programming in
fragile states. He completed his medical studies at Melbourne University in
Australia, a Master of Public Health at Harvard University in Boston, and the
Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) programme at CDC Atlanta. Dr Salama is a
former Harkness and Fulbright Scholar in public policy focusing on migration
and refugee issues.
Peter Salama
