Dr. Jeremy Farrar has been named as WHO‘s new Chief Scientist. Dr. Farrar, the current Director of the Wellcome Trust, will join WHO in the second quarter of 2023.
Dr. Amelia Latu Afuhaamango Tuipulotu will succeed Dr. Margaret Chan as WHO’s Chief Nursing Officer. Dr. Tuipulotu, previously the Minister for Health of the Kingdom of Tonga and Tonga’s Chief Nursing Officer, will join WHO in the first quarter of 2023.
As WHO’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Farrar will be in charge of the Science Division, which will bring together the brightest minds in science and innovation from around the world to create and provide high-quality health services to those who need them the most, regardless of who they are or where they live.
Dr. Farrar is a clinician scientist who spent 17 years as the Director of the Clinical Research Unit at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Vietnam before joining Wellcome in 2013. His research interests are in global health, focusing on emerging infectious diseases.
Under Dr. Farrar’s leadership, Wellcome has adopted a more global perspective, focusing on funding discovery research projects that will transform our understanding of life, health, and well-being, as well as supporting science-based solutions to three pressing challenges: infectious disease, mental health, and the effects of climate change on health.
Dr. Farrar is a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences in the United Kingdom, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), the National Academies in the United States, and The Royal Society.
Dr. Tuipulotu will champion, nurture, and support nurses and midwives in her capacity as the Chief Nursing Officer for WHO to ensure that their knowledge and expertise are effectively applied to improve health systems and to support their crucial role in bridging the gap between patients, communities, and national health systems.
As of December 2021, Dr. Tuipulotu will be the first female health minister in the Kingdom of Tonga.
Dr. Tuipulotu worked as Tonga’s chief nursing officer from 2014 to 2019. She previously held the position of Director of Nursing at Vaiola Hospital, the primary referral facility for the nation. She was the first Tongan to be awarded a nursing doctorate. At the University of Sydney, Dr. Tuipulotu was appointed Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor in 2019.
Dr. Tuipulotu served as a member of the WHO Executive Board from May 2020 to December 2022; in 2020, she was chosen as the board’s rapporteur.
“I am thrilled that Jeremy and Amelia will join WHO at a crucial juncture in global public health when investment in the health workforce and science is essential to bolstering health systems and epidemic preparedness and prevention,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
As Chief Scientist, Jeremy will quicken our efforts to guarantee that cutting-edge, life-saving science and technologies benefit WHO, its Member States, and its partners. In her role as Chief Nursing Officer, Amelia will spark the urgent need to fill the shortage of health professionals worldwide and ensure they get the support they need.