A Life in Global Health: WHO DG Candidate David Nabarro

April 26, 2017

David Nabarro’s global health roots run deep—“40 years, across 50 countries,” as he puts it. He began his career in the in the mid-1970s, he worked as a medical officer for Save the Children in North Iraq. One of 3 candidates to be WHO’s Director-General, Nabarro held key UN and WHO positions that focused on malaria, Ebola, food security, childhood obesity. His most recent position: special adviser to the UN Secretary-General on sustainable development and climate change.

Will his deep global experience attract enough support to make him the next DG over the two other robustly qualified candidates? The World Health Assembly will decide in less than a month.

In this 4-part Q&A with GHN, Nabarro makes the case for his candidacy, offers his 3 top priorities for WHO, spells out his strategy for effectively leading the organization and discusses the lessons he learned by leading the advisory group on reforming WHO’s outbreak and emergency response efforts.

“I am ready to deliver the changes that WHO needs,” Nabarro says.

David Nabarro: “The role I have been training for my entire life.” Part I, April 24, 2015
In the first installment, Nabarro details his experience and responds to the notion that it’s time for a DG from a low- or middle-income country.
WHO’s Essential Fixes: DG Candidate David Nabarro’s Q&A, Part II. April 25, 2017
Nabarro reflects on lessons he learned by heading up reforms to WHO’s outbreak and emergency response following the Ebola outbreak. He also shares insights into the changes he would prioritize for WHO in this second part of the Q&A series.
Top Priorities and Budget Fixes: David Nabarro’s Q&A, Part III, April 27, 2017
WHO DG candidate David Nabarro has a crisp, well-honed response when asked what his top priorities would be if he were to take charge of the WHO.
Making WHO “Relevant and Effective": DG Candidate David Nabarro’s Q&A, Part IV, April 28, 2017
Nabarro, in this final installment of GHN's Q&A with him, says he will bring “strategic and sensitive” leadership to WHO and will diplomatically broker deals while also calling out nations that aren’t living by international regulations.