Anne Marie Worning appointed as new acting head of WHO’s team on public health, innovation and intellectual property

On 4 June 2010, Dr. Margaret Chan (Director General, World Health Organization) announced Dr. Anne Marie Worning as ‘acting Director, Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (PHI)’. According to the WHO website,

Dr Anne Marie Worning, a Danish national, is the Executive Director of the Director-General’s Office since April 2009.

Dr. Worning has had extensive experience at WHO, serving at both the regional offices in Cairo and Copenhagen as well as headquarters. Prior to WHO, ‘Dr Worning worked in the pharmaceutical industry as the European coordinator of clinical trials; she is a founding member of the Danish Society for Quality Assurance in Health Care’ (http://www.who.int/dg/office/worning/en/index.html)

Prior to becoming Executive Director of the Director-General’s Office (EXD/DGO), Dr. Worning was Director of Planning, Resource Coordination and Performance Monitoring in WHO headquarters, a post now occupied by Dr. Elil Renganathan. Previous occupants of the EXD post at WHO include such figures as Denis Aitken and Bill Kean who served as influential advisers in shaping WHO strategy.

The fact that the Dr. Worning (EXD/DGO) has been hand-picked as Acting Director of the PHI unit of WHO, the team tasked with implementing WHO’s obligations under the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property perhaps is indicative of WHO’s renewed focus and prioritization on PHI.

David Banta, MD, MPH, a former WHO official with with appointments in Copenhagen and Washington, D.C had this to say about Dr. Worning.

Anne Marie Worning joined the WHO office in Copenhagen in the late 1980s. She worked on quality assurance and had the amazing ability to work with just about anyone while making the right calls and being tough, if necessary. As she moved up the WHO hierarchy, she retained her pleasant, competent demeanor. I have never heard a bad thing about her, and I have a great deal of respect for her.

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