Poonam Khetrapal Singh (
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
: पूनम खेत्रपाल सिंह) is the first
Indian elected Regional Director of
WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...
’s South-East Asia Region. She was also the first woman in the region to assume the office of WHO Regional Director for
South-East Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...
in February 2014. In September 2018, she was unanimously elected for a second five-year term by the 71st Regional Committee and 144th Session of the WHO Executive Board.
Education and early career
Singh has a PhD in Public Health and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) of the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
.
Prior to her service as Regional Director of the WHO South-East Asia Region, for over two decades she was a civil servant in India as a member of the
Indian Administrative Services (IAS) belonging to the 1975 Batch. This included roles as Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare; Secretary of the Department of Personnel and General Administration; Managing Director of Punjab Financial Corporation and Punjab Industrial development corporations in the
State of Punjab. She has also worked in the Health, Population and Nutrition Department of
The World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development.
The World Bank is the collective name for the Internati ...
and joined WHO headquarters in 1998 as Executive Director, Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments Cluster, and a member of the Director-General’s Cabinet. Dr Singh was the first Indian Women to serve as an Executive Director at WHO headquarters in Geneva. In February 2013, she joined the Government of India’s
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare as Advisor for International Health, where her principal task was to strengthen global health outcomes and to take forward the international health agenda.
Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia
Singh’s term as the Regional Director of the South-East Asia Region of World Health Organization is defined by the maxim "Sustain. Accelerate. Innovate." Each word complements her original "One by Four" plan and the seven (later eight) Flagship Priorities that, since 2014, anchored region-wide progress.
Her term ended in 2023, and she was succeeded by
Saima Wazed, who took over the position as the new Regional Director.
Honours
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National Order of Merit (Bhutan), First Class (17 December 2023).
Selected works and publications
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Poonam Khetrapal
World Health Organization officials
Living people
Indian Administrative Service officers
1949 births
Indian officials of the United Nations