A

Tanzanian
appointed
as
Assistant
Director
General of the World
Health Organization
The Director General of
the
World
Health
Organization (WHO), Dr
Margaret
Chan
has
appointed Dr Winnie
Mpanju-Shumbusho
from the United Republic
of Tanzania as the
Assistant
Director
General of the World
Health Organization. Dr
Mpanju-Shumbusho will
lead the W.H.O. Cluster of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Neglected
Tropical Diseases Cluster and related Global Partnerships, with effect from
01 June 2015. The appointment was announced officially around the
World Health Assembly 68th session taking place on 18 to 26 May 2015, in
Geneva, Switzerland. In this capacity Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho will lead the
World Health Organizations work with countries to prevent, control and
mitigate the impact of these diseases, thus contributing to development
and achievement of the Millennium Development and post-2015
Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho has more than 30 years experience in key senior
leadership positions in health, public health, international cooperation and
academia.Before this appointment, she was the Director of the Office of
the Assistant Director General, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and
Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization; as well as the
Director of the WHOs Partnership and Technical Cooperation with the
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Under her leadership,
WHO has assisted developing countries world-wide (particularly high
disease burden countries) to access funding of more than 10 Billion
USDfrom the Global Fund, to support their national Programmes to
combat HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; including scaling up
treatment and prevention programmes, health systems strengthening
and improving reproductive, maternal and child health.

Prior to that, Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho served as the Director of the World

Health Organizations HIV/AIDS & STIs Programme, during which she led
the development of the first-ever Global Health Sector Strategy for
HIV/ADS; and the development of the first-ever Guidelines for Use of
Antiretroviral Therapy in Low Resource settings; was co-founder of the
WHO 3by5 Initiative on Scaling Up Access to HIV/AIDS Treatment in
developing countries (particularly high disease burden low income
countries); oversaw the mainstreaming of the HIV/AIDS throughout WHO;
and led WHOs consultations and inputs viz-a-viz the 2001 UN General
Assembly Special Session Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and
Health Millennium Development Goals.
Before that Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho served as the Director General of the
Commonwealth Regional Health Community Secretariat for East, Central
and Southern AfricaSecretariat (CRHCS-ECSA) based in Arusha, Tanzania,
during which she led the development of the first-ever CRHC-ECSA
Strategic Plan, mobilized resources to address the Regions public health
priorities, led
South-to-South collaboration programmes to address
regional and cross-border public health priorities, including health
workers capacity building, sharing of expertise and translation of
research findings into policy and programmatic actions.
Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho also served as the Head and Senior Lecturer,
Community Health Department, University of Dar-es-salaam (UDSM)
Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences (MUCHS); Consultant
Paediatrician and Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics and Child Health, UDSMMUCHS and Muhimbili University Teaching Hospital, during which she was
also Chief Public Health Adviser to the Tanzania Ministry of Health on
Communicable Diseases Control and Immunization, Health Systems
Management, Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health, Human Nutrition
and Environmental Health.
Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho has served as a member of various international
and national boards, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria Board; the Tanzania National Urban Water Authority Board,
AHEAD Board; and a member of various expert committees.
Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho is a holder of a Doctor Of Medicine (MD) Degree
from the University of Dar-es-salaam; a Master of Public Health (MPH)
Degree from Tulane University, New Orleans, USA; and a Master of
Medicine (M.MED) Degree in Paediatrics and Child Health, from the
University of Dar-es-salaam.

She has won several leadership, humanitarian and academic awards,

including the Hubert H. Humphrey North-South Professional Award; the
AHEAD Humanitarian Award; the East Africa Academy Award; and the
Ford Foundation Women Advancement Fellowship award.
Dr Mpanju-Shumbusho is married, with a daughter and a son.