It is with great pleasure that the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research at WHO welcomes Dr Kumanan Rasanathan as its new Executive Director, who will join the Alliance on 1 November 2022.
Dr Rasanathan is a public health physician with a strong background in health policy and systems research and extensive experience working at different levels of the World Health Organization and within the wider UN system. During his almost 25 years working in health systems, career highlights have included serving as Incident Manager for WHO for the COVID-19 response in Cambodia, helping to drive the development of the Sustainable Development Goal health agenda while at UNICEF, contributing to the work of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, co-writing the 2008 WHO World Health Report on primary health care, and running meningococcal vaccine trials that enabled vaccine licensure and roll-out in New Zealand.
Professor David Peters, Chair of the Alliance Board, said: “Kumanan puts equity at the heart of efforts to create systems for health. His experience working in the WHO Country Office in Cambodia, where he focused on health systems, and prior work on implementation research and policy translation, means that he understands the practicalities of supporting countries to strengthen their health systems. And his broader interests in addressing the social determinants of health are very future forward – he recognizes that creating health and well-being goes beyond health care systems.”
“I congratulate Kumanan on his appointment,” said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at WHO. “He has worked closely with researchers, health practitioners and policy-makers over the years and believes strongly that science has an important role to play in informing decisions. His time spent as incident manager for COVID-19 in Cambodia is a good example of where he coordinated multiple constituencies and knowledge sources to help steer a rapid and informed response to a serious health threat.”
Dr Rasanathan noted that: “I have had the pleasure of working with the Alliance for many years and in many ways. I appreciate the Alliance’s commitment to practical problem solving through funding implementation research, while also making sure the bigger picture is kept in mind by promoting systems thinking. I look forward to working with the Alliance’s staff, board and partners to generate and support policy and systems research that improves health equity and helps to address the current crises the world faces to get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”