Dr Sevil Huseynova

Dr Sevil Huseynova, a paediatrician and public-health professional, assumed the role of Head of the WHO European Centre for Preparedness for Humanitarian and Health Emergencies in September 2025. She brings more than 25 years of international experience spanning humanitarian response, health-system reform, governance and policy development across central Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific.

From 2013 to 2025, she served in the WHO Western Pacific Region, as Head of the WHO office covering 5 countries and territories (Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau) and as WHO Representative in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Her work focused on system transformation, emergency preparedness and organizational excellence, advancing partnerships for equity and resilience.

Between 2004 and 2013, Dr Huseynova served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan, directing WHO programmes on communicable diseases – notably tuberculosis, HIV and leprosy – and leading complex humanitarian operations in conflict-affected settings. Before joining WHO, she worked with Project HOPE, Save the Children and Relief International, focusing on health-system capacity-building for vulnerable and displaced populations.

Trained in paediatrics, her early career combined clinical practice, research and teaching, providing a foundation that bridges science, service and human development. She has co-authored publications on health systems and policy, and health governance.

A passionate advocate for women’s leadership, gender equality and purposeful partnership, Dr Huseynova integrates her humanitarian experience with motivational speaking, mentorship, and literature that inspires service and resilience. Across all projects and programmes she has led, her guiding vision is to build inclusive systems that uphold life, dignity and the shared strength of communities.

Dr Huseynova graduated as a doctor of medicine, paediatrics, from Azerbaijan Medical University, and holds a master’s in public health from the State University of New York, and is completing a doctorate in public policy at James Cook University, Australia. She speaks Azerbaijani, English, Russian and Turkish fluently. She is a mother of 2 sons.