Shyama Kuruvilla

Dr. Shyama Kuruvilla is the Director ai. of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre, where she leads work across research and innovation, health systems integration and quality, cross-sectoral partnerships, and the convening of a biennial WHO Global Summit. The Centre’s work includes a focus on leveraging responsible artificial intelligence to connect centuries-old healing systems with cutting-edge technologies, scaling up evidence synthesis and innovative solutions for the health and well-being of people and the planet. Previously, Dr. Kuruvilla was WHO Senior Strategic Adviser for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Life Course, including as technical lead for the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on UHC. She was Director of the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Accountability Panel and led the development of the UN Every Woman Every Child Global Strategy that underpinned a global movement supporting investment, implementation and impact in countries. Earlier, she was part of the founding WHO team that established the Health Internetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI), expanding equitable access to global scientific knowledge, and has also worked in academia and rural primary health care programmes. Dr. Kuruvilla holds a PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, an MSc from Cornell University, and an undergraduate degree from Christian Medical College, Vellore.