WHO Appoints A New, Reform-Minded Head For Africa

Matshidiso Moeti speaks to the media during a press conference at the European headquarters of the U.N. in Geneva, Switzerland on January 27, 2015. (Photo: Salvatore Di Nolfi/AP)

World Health Organization appointed Botswana’s Dr. Matshidiso Moeti as its new head of Africa operations on Tuesday.

The physician is tasked with revamping the organization on the continent in the wake of the Ebola outbreak and ensuring that the WHO improves its overall response plans to public health crises.

“There is no question that, as a region, we need to up our game,” Moeti told the New York Times this week. “The WHO is reforming, and one of my intentions is to fast-track reform in the region, too.”

Moeti has already unveiled multiple priorities she plans to commence immediately, including ending the Ebola outbreak and pushing more African countries to adopt health insurance for general medical care.