UH Graduate and Director-General Elect of the World Health Organization to Speak at UH Manoa

Dr. Jong-Wook Lee, an advocate for fighting health challenges, to share his views

Dr. Jong-Wook Lee, Director-General elect of the World Health Organization (WHO), will present a public lecture, "WHO In The New Millennium" Thursday, April 24, in the Keoni Auditorium of the East-West Center‘s Hawaiʻi Imin International Conference Center. Sponsored by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Public Health Sciences and Epidemiology, Department of Microbiology, and The Distinguished Lecture Series, the lecture will begin at 7 p.m. preceded by a reception in the garden level at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Lee was nominated by the WHO Executive Board for the post of Director-General in January of this year. "The Global Health Council congratulates Dr. J.W. Lee on his nomination, especially in light of his successes in leading the WHO‘s global efforts to combat tuberculosis and to provide all the world‘s children with essential immunizations," Dr. Nils Daulaire, President and CEO of the Global Health Council, stated after Dr. Lee‘s nomination.

In his 19 years in technical, managerial and policy positions at WHO, Dr. Lee has achieved several goals, most notably his fight against two of the greatest challenges to health and development: tuberculosis and vaccine preventable diseases in children. Lee also served as head of the WHO Global Program for Vaccines and Immunizations. In 2000, Lee was appointed director of the Stop TB program, a coalition of more than 250 international partners including WHO member states, donors, non-governmental organizations, industry and foundations.

Born in Seoul, Republic of Korea, Dr. Lee received a Medical Doctor degree (M.D.) from Seoul National University and a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from UH. He speaks English, Korean and Japanese, and reads French and Chinese. His nomination will be submitted for approval to the 56th World Health Assembly scheduled to meet in May 2003 in Geneva. The new Director-General will take office and start his five-year term in July 2003.