New York: Anil Soni, Indian-origin global health expert has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of the newly launched the WHO Foundation. The WHO Foundation works alongside the World Health Organization to address most pressing health challenges across the world.

WHO Foundation in its press statement on Monday said he will assume his role as The WHO Foundation’s inaugural Chief Executive Officer on 1^st January 2021. He will accelerate the Foundation’s “work to invest in innovative, evidence-based initiatives that support W.H.O in delivering on its mission to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all”.

The WHO Foundation, an independent grant-making agency headquartered in Geneva, was launched in May 2020 to work alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) and the global health community to address the world’s most pressing global health challenges.

He joins the Foundation from Viatris, a global healthcare company, where he served as Head of Global Infectious Diseases. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described him as a “proven innovator” in global health who has spent two decades in service of communities affected by HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.

“He earned my trust when he and his team at the Clinton Health Access Initiative worked side-by-side with the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia to expand access to treatment and strengthen the management of our health centers,” Ghebreyesus said, adding that Soni has a “unique” set of skills that spans the public and private sectors, and his leadership of the Foundation will provide invaluable support to the mission of the WHO and the billions of people who depend on it.