Several members of the World Health Organization’s senior leadership team are leaving this month, according to an internal email sent to staff and seen by Devex.
For months, talk of a leadership team shake-up at WHO has been swirling, particularly among those in Geneva, where the organization’s headquarters is based. In the past few weeks, some of the people rumored to be leaving WHO have confirmed their departure, including Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan. Devex also reported of Dr. Ren Minghui, assistant director-general for universal health coverage and communicable and noncommunicable diseases, leaving the organization. Minghui is retiring, according to a source familiar with the matter.
But there are more exits. In an internal email sent to staff on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that Jane Ellison, executive director for external relations and governance; Dr. Jaouad Mahjour, assistant director-general on emergency preparedness and international health regulations; Dr. Mariângela Batista Galvão Simão, assistant director-general on access to medicines and health products; Dr. Princess Nothemba Simelela, assistant director-general and special adviser to the director-general on strategic priorities; and Dr. Naoko Yamamoto, assistant director-general on UHC and healthier populations, are also leaving, with their appointments coming to an end on Nov. 30.
Tedros expressed his gratitude to his departing senior leadership team, as well as to Elizabeth Iro, chief nursing officer of WHO, and Min-Whee Kang, senior adviser in the director-general’s office, whose appointments are also ending.
Dr. Agnes Buzyn, who previously served as Tedros’ envoy for multilateral affairs and head of the WHO Academy, was also included in the email, but she already left WHO months ago.
Exclusive: WHO top official set to leave amid senior management shake-up
Dr. Ren Minghui, who's taken on big responsibilities as WHO ADG for UHC, communicable diseases, and NCDs, is expected to leave end of November, Devex has learned.
“Thanks to their leadership and expertise, these departing members of the senior leadership team made a truly positive difference, and their legacy is a strengthened and more agile, equitable, and resilient WHO,” Tedros wrote in the email.
It is not yet known who will replace the departing officials. Some WHO insiders expect an announcement to be made soon.
To date, only former French Ambassador for Global Health Stéphanie Seydoux announced on Twitter that she’s taking on the role of WHO envoy for multilateral affairs.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
