Abuja, 15 December 2016 - The new World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative(WR), Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu formally assumes duties on 15 December, 2016 with the presentation of his Letters of Commission to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorable Geoffrey Onyeama. The presentation which took place in Abuja, was witnessed by dignitaries from the ministry and WHO country office.

During the brief ceremony, the minister acknowledged the enormous contributions by WHO over the years towards attaining the highest levels of health by all Nigerians. Visibly impressed by Dr Alemu’s résumé, the minister added that “your pedigree is there for all to see and I have no doubt that you will make a positive impact on the health of all Nigerians”.

The minister who regretted the humanitarian crisis in the north east, the unfortunate polio resurgence and  disease outbreaks in some parts of the country, stressed that “we look up to WHO to help us break the circle of poor health indicators”, and assured the WR of Government of Nigeria’s full support to facilitate the work of WHO in Nigeria.

In his remarks preceding the presentation, Dr Alemu appreciated the warm welcome to Nigeria, noting that WHO and Nigeria signed the first bilateral agreement in 1962 and since then, WHO continued with the technical advisory role. Of late, the cooperation is more structured and is based on the jointly prepared document in the form of Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS). The strategy is well aligned to the national priorities and allows WHO to support government’s efforts to improve the health status of all Nigerians.

An Ethiopian national, Dr Alemu, holds a Doctorate degree in Medicine and has accumulated 28 years of experience in epidemiology, particularly disease surveillance, prevention and control and public health both at technical and managerial levels. Dr Alemu coordinated the implementation of the WHO Regional Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response in the African Region from 1997 to 2008. He led and coordinated development of tools, guides and protocols on disease surveillance working with concerned programme managers. He was involved in the preparation of pandemic influenza preparedness and response plans for the African region; provided technical assistance to countries in the development of national pandemic influenza preparedness and response plans; participated in the development of training materials and training of health personnel on Avian Influenza; and participated/coordinated the investigation and response to the first human case of H5N1 in Nigeria.

His international experience includes working with UNICEF in Ethiopia from 1994-1997, WHO Zimbabwe, 1997-2006, Before his reassignment to Nigeria, he served as the WR in Sierra Leone from 2008-2013 and Uganda, from April 2013- November 2016. 

The WR is an accredited representative of the WHO Director-General and the Regional Director and is responsible for all negotiations with the host country. The WR also oversees relationships with the government, provides security for WHO personnel and facilitates functional common services arrangements with other UN agencies.

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