WHO: Executive Board appoints new Regional Director for the Americas

The WHO Executive Board, currently holding its 132nd session in Geneva, has appointed Dr Carissa Etienne as the new Regional Director for WHO’s Americas Region (WHO/AMR), following her nomination by the Regional Committee for the Americas in September 2012. Dr Etienne will take up her appointment for a five-year term on 1 February 2013, succeeding Dr Mirta Roses Periago of Argentina. Dr Etienne, in her acceptance speech, said, “I believe strongly that good health is rooted in equity, universality, solidarity and inclusiveness. I have learned that Universal Health Coverage is not only the best way to improve the health of every citizen in a country – but that it is entirely feasible.” Dr Etienne, from Dominica, holds degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of the West Indies, as well as a master’s in community health and an honorary diploma in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2013/regional_director_20130122/en/index.html