Dr Lucica Ditiu has been appointed the new Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership. Dr Ditiu, who is 42 years old and originally from Romania, will head the partnership and oversee the workings of its secretariat, which is hosted by WHO in Geneva.
She began her career with WHO eleven years ago as a medical officer for TB in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. In 2006 she became a medical officer in the TB unit of the European Regional Office in Copenhagen. For the last 12 months she has been team leader of the Stop TB Partnership's TB REACH initiative, based in Geneva.
"The appointment of Dr Lucica Ditiu as the new Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership will be welcomed by many engaged in the fight against TB," said WHO Stop TB Department Director, Dr Mario Raviglione. "Successful global TB control requires strong dedication. Health programmes are being hit hard by the aftershocks of the economic downturn and the Stop TB Partnership will play an ever more critical role in ensuring that successes in TB are sustained and built on."
The selection of Dr Lucica Ditiu was confirmed by WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. The Stop TB Partnership consists of more then 1200 international organizations, countries, donors from the public and private sectors, and nongovernmental and governmental organizations.
For more information www.stoptb.org