Kazem Behbehani
(Kuwait), Ph.D., M.R.C. Path (UK)
The World Health Organization Envoy (December 2005 - )

He was a Post Doctoral Fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Mathilda and Terence Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in London, the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and the Vice President of Kuwait University. He was also Deputy Director General of Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and a member of the Management Board of the IBM Scientific Centre, Kuwait. Director of WHO AIDS Collaborative Centre (Kuwait) and member of WHO Global Programme of AIDS (GPA) Management Committee (Geneva).

He was Professor of Immunology and Medical Parasitology at Kuwait Medical Faculty and a Visiting Scholar/Professor at the Harvard Medical School.

At WHO (1990-2005), he worked in the vaccine research of the Global programme of AIDS, the Programme Manager of Tropical Disease Research (TDR), the Director of both the Division of the Control of Tropical Diseases and, the Eastern Mediterranean Liaison Office in Geneva. He served as a member of the WHO Board of Appeal, Secretary of number of Intergovernmental meetings (e.g. Tobacco Convention), as well as several of the committees/subcommittees of the Executive Board and the World Health Assembly. WHO Assistant Director-General, External Relations and Governing Bodies (2003 - 5)

He was the Chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAWA)'s External Panel for the Evaluation of Human Health Programme (2005).

He continues to be a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (UK), a member of several scientific and technical bodies including the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the trustee of a number of international charitable bodies and foundations.

He is a member of the Ethics Review committee (2005 - ), International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

He is the recipient of several awards and scientific recognitions, including the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science's (KFAS) Best Researcher in Medicine. He served as a member of the Editorial Board of a number of scientific journals. He has more than 100 scientific publications and one book on science and technology to his credit.

He continues to be interested in environment and health issues, health management, and the application of information technology to healthcare delivery (eHealth) and development of interactive educational materials for the public, professionals for medical education (eLearning).


back