Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has been appointed as the assistant director-general of Health Emergency Intelligence at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to a message signed by Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, Ihekweazu’s appointment takes effect on November 1, 2021.
“I am pleased to welcome Chikwe Ihekweazu as assistant director-general for Health Emergency Intelligence from November 1, 2021.
“He will lead the work on strengthening pandemic and epidemic intelligence globally, including heading the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin,” Tedros said.
Tedros stated that Ihekweazu was trained as an infectious disease epidemiologist, has over 20 years of experience working in senior public health and leadership positions in several
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According to him, Ihekweazu is expected to partake in a panel session at the ceremony, even as the hub seeks to bring together partners worldwide to collaborate and create tools and data needed for countries to prepare, detect and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks.
He said the special event will also include a ceremony to recognize Chancellor Angela Merkel’s outstanding leadership in global public health.
Ihekweazu, born in Germany, has served in various public health positions, including the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency, and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute.
He graduated from the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, and got his master’s degree in Public Health from the Heinrich-Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany.
In 2003, he was awarded a fellowship for the European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training in the United Kingdom.
