Chikwe Ihekweazu appointed acting WHO regional director for Africa

Chikwe Ihekweazu has been appointed as the acting regional director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Africa.

Ihekweazu, a former director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), was appointed on Tuesday at the ongoing 156th session of the WHO executive board in Geneva, Switzerland.

Announcing the appointment, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, said he is confident that Africa is in “capable hands” for the next four months.

A new regional director for Africa will be elected in May 2025.

The former NCDC DG takes over from Matshidiso Moeti, who has finished her term.

Moeti thanked the organisation for her time spent as regional director, saying it has been “an honour to work alongside dedicated colleagues, partners, and communities committed to making a lasting impact”.

“To our Member States, I extend my heartfelt thanks. Your courage, resilience and determination have inspired me every day,” she wrote in a post on X.

“Over the past decade, we have worked side-by-side to strengthen health systems and advance universal health coverage to expand access to care.

“We have celebrated groundbreaking milestones. To our partners, none of our successes would have been possible without you.

“Your technical and financial support and our joint action have been instrumental in driving innovation and impact.”

In 2021, Ihekweazu was appointed as an assistant director-general of the WHO in charge of health emergency intelligence.

Ihekweazu was trained as an infectious disease epidemiologist and has over 20 years of experience working in senior public health and leadership positions in several national public health institutes, including the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency, and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute.