Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele

 

Dr Okwo-Bele is the Director of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB) in the WHO Headquarters in Geneva since August 2004. In this position, he has the responsibility for strategic direction, coordination and management of the WHO normative and programmatic immunization activities, ranging from vaccine research, vaccine quality and safety to immunization policy and immunization services delivery.  He oversees a team of nearly 110 IVB professionals in Geneva and collaborates with the WHO network of dedicated vaccines & immunization teams based in 6 regions and 67 countries.

 

His previous appointments include Chief, Global Immunization Activities in UNICEF Headquarters based in New York, from 2002-2004; Regional Manager, Vaccine-Preventable Disease Unit in the WHO African Regional Office, from 1993-2002; and Provincial and National Manager for childhood communicable diseases in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 1980s.

 

During his 30 years in public health, he contributed to the expansion of national immunization programmes in many countries; he directed the polio eradication initiative in Africa, resulting in the reduction of polio endemic countries from 34 in 1993 to 2 in 2002; he coordinated global efforts for the development of the WHO/UNICEF Global Immunization Vision and Strategy for 2006-2015, which was adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2005.

 

Dr Okwo-Bele trained as a physician, receiving his medical degree in 1981 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) and a Master's degree in public health at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in the US in 1986. He was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in 1998; he is a co-author of more than 20 articles and book chapters on vaccines and immunization and he represents WHO in the GAVI Alliance Programme and Policy Board Committee.