Professor Mohamed Janabi of Tanzania has been elected as the new Regional Director for Africa at the World Health Organization (WHO). His election was confirmed during a Special Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, held on Sunday in Geneva ahead of the World Health Assembly.
Janabi succeeds Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, who was appointed WHO’s Executive Director of the Health Emergencies Programme earlier this year. Ihekweazu had served as the acting Regional Director following the sudden death of Dr. Faustine Engelbert Ndugulile, who was elected in August 2024.
Born on December 25, 1962, Prof. Janabi currently serves as the Senior Advisor on Health Matters to Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and is the Executive Director of Muhimbili National Hospital. He previously led the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute in Dar es Salaam from 2014 to 2022.
According to his curriculum vitae, Prof. Janabi envisions “a healthier, resilient, and prosperous Africa” where every individual has access to quality healthcare through equitable, innovative, and sustainable systems.
His key priorities include:
Universal Health Coverage
Maternal and child health
Addressing communicable and non-communicable diseases
Strengthening primary health care
Climate-resilient health systems
Health security
Research and innovation
Strategic partnerships
Combating antimicrobial resistance
Domestic health financing
Prof. Janabi holds a PhD in Cardiology from Osaka University, Japan, where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship. He earned his MD from Kharkov Medical Institute, Ukraine, and a Master’s in Tropical Health from Queensland Medical School, Australia. He is an Honorary Professor at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences and an Adjunct Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, USA.
Outside of medicine, Janabi is passionate about sports. From 2018 to 2024, he was a board member of Simba Sports Club, helping the team reach a CAF ranking of seventh. He now chairs the Drug and Doping Committee for the upcoming 2027 AFCON tournament, which will be hosted in East Africa.
Following the announcement, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus congratulated Janabi, stating on X (formerly Twitter), “You have earned the confidence and trust of the Member States of the region. This is a great privilege and a very great responsibility. I assure you of my support and that of my colleagues in Geneva.”
WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Kazadi Mulombo, also extended his congratulations. “We @WHONigeria look forward to working under your leadership and stand ready to contribute to fulfilling your vision of a healthier, better, and more competitive Africa,” he said.
