Keiji Fukuda

Special Adviser on Pandemic Influenza

Dr Keiji Fukuda was named Special Adviser on Pandemic Influenza to the Director-General in October 2009. Prior to that, he was the Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment ad interim. He came to WHO in 2005, was Coordinator of the Global Influenza Programme from 2006 to 2008 and then was appointed its Director. Under his guidance, the programme greatly expanded its global role in providing technical leadership and guidance related to seasonal, avian and pandemic influenza.

Dr Fukuda has extensive public health and research experience working on influenza. At WHO, he has helped shape the global approach to pandemic preparedness, strengthened surveillance, and played an instrumental role in facilitating intergovernmental discussions over the sharing of influenza viruses and related benefits. He has participated in many field investigations including the earliest outbreaks of avian H5N1 influenza and the emergence of SARS. He has been extensively involved with efforts to address the current H1N1 pandemic.

Before coming to WHO, Dr Fukuda was Chief of the Epidemiology Unit, Influenza Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. He is a physician and received his BA from Oberlin College, MD from the University of Vermont and MPH from the University of California, Berkeley.