Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region
Dr Catharina Boehme is a public health expert with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of strategy, policy, and innovation, with 15 years in leadership positions. She has expanded access to life-saving technologies, shaped international health policy, and mobilized billions in funding for global health priorities. Known for uniting technical credibility with political acumen, she has been translating complexity into action—building coalitions, driving change, and delivering results in high-stakes, multi-stakeholder environments. In July this year, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, designated Dr Boehme as Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region, following consultation with Member States of the Region, to lead WHO’s mission as a neutral caretaker in the absence of the Regional Director.
Prior to this, Dr Boehme, was WHO’s Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Governance. She led corporate communications, partnerships, resource mobilization, and the work of the governing boards that set global health direction. She built multi-stakeholder platforms with the private sector, civil society, parliaments, and youth, and launched innovative public-private initiatives such as a health impact investment platform.
Previously, as Chef de Cabinet to the WHO Director-General during the COVID-19 crisis, she supported leadership decision-making, advised on critical policy issues, and coordinated strategic planning and program delivery across all WHO regions and country offices. She played a key role in driving organizational reform and embedding gender and equity into WHO’s work.
Before joining WHO, Dr Boehme was CEO of FIND, where she transformed the organization into a global diagnostics leader operating in over 40 countries. She established and expanded FIND’s presence in India, Peru, and South Africa. Under her leadership, FIND delivered innovations to over 100 million people and co-led the ACT-Accelerator for COVID-19 testing.
In her early years as a medical doctor, Dr Boehme provided hands-on medical care for patients with infectious and tropical diseases at the Department of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, Munich. Her work in Tanzania, South Africa, and Ghana, informs her practical understanding of health challenges in underserved settings and grounds her commitment to inclusive, sustainable solutions that address health systems challenges.