Soumya Swaminathan to take charge as Deputy Director-General of WHO

Soumya Swaminathan, Chief of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), will take charge as the Deputy Director-General for Programmes (DDP) of World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva in December 2017. The announcement was made on 26 November 2017.

Her appointment as the Deputy Director-General of WHO elevates India's stature globally as it is the second-highest position in the WHO.

Swaminathan, a pediatrician by training, is daughter of agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan, who is hailed as the father of the 'Green Revolution'.

About Soumya Swaminathan
• Swaminathan is an internationally-recognised researcher on Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV.
• With over 30 years of experience in clinical care and research, Swaminathan has been a member of several WHO and international advisory bodies including the WHO specialist Panel to Review Global Strategy (RGS) and Innovation and Intellectual Property, Plan of Action on Public Health.
• She has also been a member of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of the Global TB Department at WHO.
• She served as the Coordinator of the UNDP/ UNICEF/ WHO Special Programme World Bank for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) in Geneva from 2009 to 2011.
• She was also the Co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on TB.

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