The Regional Director for Africa of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Luis Gomes Sambo, is in Washington this week to meet with top officials of key international and U.S. health and development agencies. The Regional Director for Africa of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Luis Gomes Sambo, is in Washington this week to meet with top officials of key international and U.S. health and development agencies.
Dr. Sambo, a national of Angola, was recently elected to a second five-year term as Director of the Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) of WHO. While in Washington, he will meet with Dr. Mirta Roses, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and other PAHO officials to discuss the work of the two regional WHO offices and areas of collaboration. In recent years, PAHO and AFRO have worked together in areas including health systems strengthening, human resources for health, and vaccine-preventable diseases.
In addition to meetings at PAHO, Dr. Sambo will meet with top officials of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is scheduled to visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health, where he will meet with leaders of the institutes and will visit NIH's Vaccine Center and Clinical Center.
Dr. Sambo is also scheduled to meet with the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, who oversees the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Dr. Sambo joined WHO in 1989 as Chief of the Inter-Country Strategic Support Team in Harare, Zimbabwe, where he oversaw technical support to strengthen health systems in the Southern African countries. Before that he held a number of positions in Angola's health service, including Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Health and Vice-Minister of Health. He holds a medical degree from the University of Angola's Faculty of Medicine and a Ph.D. in management from the University of Hull, U.K.
Accompanying Dr. Sambo as members of the AFRO delegation are: Dr. Jean Baptiste Roungou, Director, Division of Prevention & Control of Communicable Diseases; Dr. Rui Vaz, Regional Programme Manager, HIV/AIDS; Dr. Francis Kasolo, Regional Adviser, Laboratory/Poliomyelitis; and Mr. Devendre Gopaul, Technical Officer, Governing Bodies.
PAHO was established in 1902 and is the world's oldest public health organization. It works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of the people of the Americas and serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).
CONTACTS: Donna Eberwine-Villagran, email: eberwind@paho.org, tel. +1 202 974 3122, Knowledge Management and Communication Area, PAHO/WHO — http://www.paho.org/
