Dr Pavel Ursu
Biography
Dr Ursu serves as Director of the Department of Delivery for Impact. He first joined WHO in 2001 and brings rich field experience in integrating health emergencies, universal health coverage and public health policy from the country level. Under Dr Ursu’s leadership in his previous roles as WHO Representative and Head of Country Office in Turkey, Tajikistan and the Republic of Moldova, several national strategies and action plans were developed, including on primary health care and NCDs, tobacco control, nutrition and physical activity, and antimicrobial resistance as well as several large-scale emergency response plans.
Dr Ursu earned his Medical Degree as a Physician of General Practice in 1995 and holds an MPH in Health Service Management as well as a Postgraduate Diploma and Master of Science Degree in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Before joining WHO, he combined clinical work at Chisinau City Emergency Hospital with supporting the Emergency Medical Services capacity strengthening project. He later served as senior advisor and Head of the International Relations Office for the Ministry of Health of Moldova.
In his current role, Dr Ursu leads the work on driving measurable impact of GPW 13 through holding regular global stocktakes of progress towards the “triple billion” targets and SDGs with senior leadership at all three levels of WHO to facilitate corporate problem solving and necessary course corrective actions for accelerated progress. The work of the Delivery for Impact Department also supports change management approaches incorporating data-driven and impact-focused efforts in the implementation of GPW 13.