MSH Saddened by Passing of Dr. Peter Salama

January 24, 2020—Management Sciences for Health (MSH) mourns the sudden passing of Dr. Peter Salama, Executive Director of WHO’s Division for Universal Health Coverage. “Dr. Salama was an exceptional leader and a tireless health advocate for all, especially children and those living in poverty. MSH was proud to collaborate with him on a number of efforts, including those relating to universal health coverage and global health security,” said Marian W. Wentworth, MSH President and CEO.

MSH was honored to work with Dr. Salama in the context of the global UHC2030 movement, where his support for civil society and community engagement in partnerships to achieve primary health care and UHC and his passion for ensuring no one is left behind in achieving health for all were an inspiration. MSH was also proud to share the global stage with Dr. Salama at last year’s UN General Assembly during the High-Level Meeting on UHC and during MSH’s 2017 Ready Together conference—a gathering of the world’s leading voices in health security, the private sector, global health financing, technology, and civil society to discuss the state of the world’s readiness to fight the next epidemic or pandemic.

Dr. Salama, a medical epidemiologist, led the Health Emergencies Programme at WHO from 2016 to 2019. Before joining WHO, he was UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, where he led UNICEF’s global response to Ebola and served as UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, Chief of Global Health and Principal Advisor on HIV/AIDS in New York, and Chief of Health and Nutrition in Afghanistan. Prior to joining UNICEF, Dr. Salama was visiting scientist at the International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Salama led research and published extensively on maternal and child health, vaccine-preventable diseases, HIV, nutrition, war-related mortality and violence, refugee and emergency health, and programming in fragile states.

“He will be profoundly missed by all of us in the global health community,” said Wentworth. “We extend our deepest sympathy to his family, many friends, and colleagues.”