Dr Tereza Kasaeva

Dr Tereza Kasaeva is the Director of the WHO’s department for HIV, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections. In this role, she leads the global effort to end the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis (TB), hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), ensuring that every person has equitable access to the highest-quality, people-centred scientific evidence and services, regardless of who they are or where they live. As Director, she works with Member States and partners including civil society, to develop and implement evidence-based normative guidance and standards, leveraging data and science to ensure access to the latest health innovations across the full continuum of public health, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care. Dr Kasaeva is also committed to safeguarding and expanding access to essential services for HIV, TB, hepatitis, STIs and their determinants, including for key and vulnerable populations, in collaboration with multisectoral stakeholders and communities. Through this work, she contributes to strengthening health systems, enhancing health and well-being, and saving lives.

Dr Kasaeva spearheaded the 2018 and 2023 UN High-Level Meetings on TB, which mobilized Heads of State, partners, and civil society, resulting in historic political declarations that set global targets and reaffirmed commitments to the SDGs and End TB Strategy. She has advanced WHO’s multisectoral accountability framework and launched the Director-General Flagship initiative “FIND. TREAT. All. #EndTB”. Kasaeva has also driven the Global Strategy for TB Research and Innovation, strengthened collaboration through the BRICS TB Research Network, and championed civil society and community engagement, including through WHO’s Civil Society Taskforce and the WHO 1+1 youth initiative.

Dr Kasaeva conceived the concept of, and co-led the organization of the First WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in the Sustainable Development Era which took place in 2017 in Moscow. The Declaration adopted at the conference, includes commitments and calls to action to accelerate efforts to end the TB epidemic, and informed the first-ever United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on TB in 2018. She also co-led efforts among BRICS Member States to set up and launch the BRICS TB Research Network to advance collaboration, mobilize resources and catalyze TB R&D.

As a leading health expert, Dr Kasaeva has over 28 years of experience in public health, with over 10 years at the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. She has worked closely with numerous stakeholders including Member States, civil society, as well as national and international partners. For more than 10 years, she coordinated the national TB, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STI, Diabetes, Mental Health and NCD programmes in the Russian Federation. She facilitated and directed the cooperation between BRICS and other countries on problems related to TB, HIV and migration. Since 2013, she has been the co-chair of the Secretariat of the High-Level Working Group of the Russian Ministry of Health and WHO on TB, and initiated the creation of a similar High Level Working Group on HIV. In 2017, she was a member of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for TB (STAG-TB). In addition, Dr Kasaeva has been instrumental in leading efforts to modernize the health system in the country, prevent and control socially significant diseases, as well as promote outpatient care for TB patients.

Dr Kasaeva is a Medical Doctor, with a specialization in Infectious Diseases and Cardiology. She has a PhD in Public Health focusing on the perfection of outpatient technologies for the treatment of the TB patients. She also has a Master’s degree in International Relations and is certified as a health-care organization specialist. In 2015, she was awarded the prestigious Breastplate "Excellence in Public Health”.