Dr Aylward leads WHO’s engagement in the UN80 Initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General and the ongoing work to optimize the efficiency and impact of the Global Health Architecture. He also serves as the Head of Secretariat for the WHO-World Bank hosted Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB).
Dr Aylward previously served as Assistant Director-General (ADG) of the Universal Health Coverage Division, overseeing WHO’s work on primary health care, health financing and systems, immunization, and reproductive, maternal & child health and aging. Prior to that he was ADG a.i. for External Relations & Governance and Senior Advisor to the DG, managing WHO’s Transformation Agenda and special initiatives such as the multi-agency Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) Hub and the G20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force.
Dr Aylward has over 30 years of experience with WHO, working at all three levels across a range of leadership positions including as Director of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, ADG of the WHO Polio & Emergencies Cluster, Executive Director of the WHO Emergencies Programme (WHE), and Deputy Director-General and Special Representative of the DG to the UN Emergency Ebola Response (UNMEER) for West Africa. In 2016, Dr Aylward led the establishment of WHO’s new emergency programme, then managed the reform of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Dr Aylward is a physician and epidemiologist with a Medical Doctorate from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, a diploma from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom, and a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in the United States of America.
