E-DRUG: Kees De Joncheere retires from EMP Director post
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Kees de Joncheere retired as Director of Essential Medicines and Health Products, WHO, on 30 April 2016.
Starting in North Yemen in 1981, Kees's WHO career took him from Panama to Costa Rica, from Brazil to Denmark (where WHO's Regional Office for Europe is located), to Ukraine and finally to headquarters in Geneva.
Kees oversaw the merging of the EMP Department's four product streams - medicines, vaccines, medical devices and diagnostics- and was instrumental in ensuring the new, enlarged department adapted smoothly to its new composition both from a technical and human resources standpoint. During his four year tenure, the WHA adopted numerous resolutions supporting this area of work, and 'Access to essential, affordable and quality assured medical products' is one of the six leadership priorities in WHO.
The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - specifically the inclusion of on access to medical products targets - plus the movement for Universal Health Coverage will provide further impetus to WHO's work in the area of essential medicines, vaccines and other health technologies.
The new Director of the EMP department will be appointed in the coming month.
For any further info, please contact
Daniela Bagozzi at:
bagozzi@who.int