Workforce testimonials

Tuan Nghia Ton

Technical Officer – Viet Nam Country Office

I am a Technical Officer in WHO’s Environmental Health team for the WHO Viet Nam country office. I am happy to work with WHO today, but I didn’t set out on this path. I enjoyed the sciences at school and went on to complete a chemical engineering degree. This led to a job in atomic energy research, which I found to be a rather isolated environment. My father motivated me to think more about the value of my work, rather than simply aiming for the highest qualification and then hoping I would find a purpose. I took a fellowship opportunity in India so I could branch into environmental solid waste management, as this was clearly an area for development. When I returned to Viet Nam, the government was in the process of normalizing relations with the US, and I was surprised to be accepted on a scholarship there to further my environmental science studies.

During my master's degree, I not only learnt about waste management, environmental impact and policy development, but I also noted the regard for evidence-based studies and the many WHO linkages to sanitation and water borne diseases, and many other environmental related health issues. I was well qualified and inspired when I got back to Viet Nam, but it was not easy to find work in this specialized area at the time. Eventually I found a Danish bilateral environmental project where I could apply my knowledge and was engaged in a multifaceted environmental project in a steel and tea production town north of Hanoi. I gained experience in waste management, air pollution and many aspects of occupational health. My focus moved further towards the management of environmental problems and their health impacts on the Vietnamese population. At the end of this project, I applied to work in various international organizations. I felt that after my reorientation, further studies and my specific experience, it was pure fate that my application to WHO was successful. It was as though everything had been leading to this.

Today I work with water suppliers and the government to support the development of the water safety plan. This is part of a WHO global project, and the implementation guidelines, which manage risks in the whole production process of drinking water, have already been successfully implemented in several cities in Viet Nam. The outcomes in reducing water borne diseases are clear. It will take a long time to implement the project across the entire country, but we are on the right road and seeing results. I’m proud of Viet Nam’s progress in water and waste management to date and of WHO’s involvement.

I find it inspiring to be part of these global WHO projects and I’ve been involved in others like the water sanitation and hygiene practices projects, which have been rolled out in a growing number of health care facilities. As we look at the effects of climate change, I’m looking forward to progressing this project and improving conditions in healthcare facilities across the country. I’m also grateful to be part of WHO’s transformation into a more diverse workforce and really feel I have a place to contribute to WHO’s mission.

Maria Intan Josi

Health Research Assistant – Indonesia Country Office.

My aunt was a nurse and a spiritual person, and she often went to help with the responses to natural disasters, including Aceh, Indonesia, after the 2004 tsunami. Her eyes would always sparkle with joy when she helped people and I used to wonder how such selfless acts could bring her so much strength and happiness. I would be a few years into my career before I understood.

My extended family comes from a rural area of Indonesia, and I had the opportunity to attend university for pharmacy studies. My first job was in capacity building and research, and I noticed that while conducting small scale research posed some challenges, I found it quite interesting. I moved to a government/NGO collaboration that specialized in infectious disease research and this really opened my eyes to working in public health. Indonesia has a heavy burden of disease, and these same diseases affect people in many parts of the world. I may not deal with patients directly since I work with data, but to see them suffer in the hospitals I visited really touched me. I started imagining how research tools could be improved, and how research contributes to health systems.

I came across WHO during my master’s degree in pharmacy studies and used their guidelines while working on clinical trials, but to find a job with the Organization seemed as far away as the stars at the time. I recalled during a field trial seeing holes in the data gathering tools for tuberculosis diagnostics, which could have led to the wrong treatments and waste. I kept wondering what an entire health organization could do to solve these issues and if I could be a part of it.

I joined the WHO Indonesia country office health systems team in 2020 to facilitate the creation of a database to gather COVID-19 research for the Indonesian government. However, there is also a longer-term project goal to build consensus on the use of evidence to make informed policy, which will support the role of research in building health systems. My team gives me clear guidance, and I am looking forward to having more direct interaction with them when the pandemic allows. I feel I have found a place where I can learn and grow, and WHO has motivated me to consider another master’s degree, this time in public health. I can contribute to this area of work, and in an organization like WHO it means I can have a lasting impact on the lives of so many people. I hope that one day in the future I’ll have the same sparkle in my eye as my aunt did when she talked about her life.

Vinoda Vythelingam

Health Promotion Officer – Mauritius Country Office

I have always been inspired by my mother’s dedication, determination and courage. I have had many opportunities because of her hard work and promised myself since childhood that I would devote myself to serving others and my family have supported my choices. My happiness relies on the happiness of others. Today I continue to keep my promise working in the non-communicable diseases and health promotion team for the WHO Country Office in Mauritius, an important area of WHO’s mission.

After studying psychology, English and French and working in private industry, I started working as a health educator with the Ministry of Health. One of my first jobs involved creating awareness and promoting health in the community, workplaces and schools. I used to be an introverted person and had to work hard to resolve this, but the goal of helping the community and promoting health motivated me. I joined the WHO Country Office in 2017 and I’m still promoting health and working to reduce the non-communicable disease risk factors such as an unhealthy diet, alcohol, tobacco and physical inactivity.

I was glad to reconnect with my colleagues in the government on a project to empower schools to promote the theme "better health and better future" through health clubs. The children shared their ideas on healthy lifestyles, for example offering herbal drinks instead of soft drinks during the National Independence Day celebration and encouraging their family and friends to practice physical activities. They were really engaged, and it made me proud to contribute to positive change in my country to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases. It is also what motivates me as a life-long learner as I further my communication studies.

Recently, we have been involved in the national COVID-19 awareness campaign, which focuses on transmission prevention measures. As a small team, we pull together during challenging projects, for example implementing the prioritized risk communication and community engagement activities needed to control COVID-19. It was inspiring to be part of such a dedicated team, all working towards a common goal.

It is a great privilege and gives me a sense of patriotism to work for the WHO Mauritius Country Office. I'm proud to be able to better serve my country and contribute to the health of the population.

Receptionist – Regional Office for Africa

I grew up in Nkayi in the Republic of Congo. My father worked hard as an engineer and I inherited his strong work ethic. I was competitive at school and tried to do better than the boys in my class. I’m also the eldest of 6 children and I’ve always encouraged my siblings and their children to study hard. Since my childhood, I’ve looked around me and seen apathy and struggle, and I always knew that I wanted to have a meaningful life in a public organization that would make a difference in my country.

After school, I continued my studies in computer science and telecommunications and with this diploma I found my first UN contract as a radio operator in UNDSS in 2003. I helped train other operators and documented our processes to improve performance and enjoyed this work, knowing it was about ensuring the security of our personnel and their families. I gained a lot of experience during that time, but I wanted to find a more secure contract. I continued studying and completed training in accounting.

Today I work for WHO African Regional Office in Brazzaville. I receive visitors, provide information for students and researchers and orient library visitors. It’s a large office and I am the receptionist; I like that I know and work with everyone. I feel I contribute to the Organization’s goals when I give all my energy to my work. I’ve also gained an understanding of WHO administration and meeting organization through contracts with the WHO sexual and reproductive health and the child health units, which were both interesting experiences that gave me a useful skillset.

I see WHO’s work all around me in the community and it makes me proud to contribute to this mission. One small example was how WHO guidance for 6 months of exclusive breast feeding was turned to policy in our government, communicated to hospitals, doctors and midwives, and on to the mothers themselves. My own sister followed this policy and her new baby has grown strong and healthy. These successes are the result of so many people working for WHO’s mission, and I love that I get to be a part of it.

Lucia Dell Amura

Administrative Associate – Regional Office for Europe

Growing up in a small town in southern Italy, I have always had a strong sense of community. There’s an understanding in my town that everyone matters and that common needs can only be met by working together. I knew as a child that I wanted to be in a bigger universe with the same soul, one that respects the individual and the team. I care about people, and I am happiest when I work with, and through, the people around me. I studied political science but didn’t find my calling in international politics, so I promised myself that I would find a job in an organization that cares about people. I had no idea that this feeling would lead me to a career with WHO, but it was a welcome surprise.

The idea of working for an organization that serves the vulnerable, that aspires to goals such as universal health coverage, is priceless to me. I see health as a fundamental right for every human being, without distinction of race, religion, political belief, wealth or social status. Everyone should have the opportunity to live a healthy life and have access to health care without financial hardship. I've seen too many loved ones suffering from diseases that could have been treated or avoided. I want to contribute to building a better, healthier future for people all over the world.

My job is incredibly rewarding. As the Administrative Associate for the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems, I ensure the smooth operations of our work. When I supported a meeting to galvanize commitment at the highest levels of leadership for public health preparedness in our region, I could not have imagined the COVID-19 pandemic or the timely importance of those efforts, but being part of the engine behind such critical work meant feeling connected to something much bigger than myself.

I embrace WHO’s principles and ideas, and I am proud to work for such a noble cause. It is extremely motivating to work for an organization that combats diseases, prepares for and intervenes in emergencies, and brings nations together to further the attainment of the universal health coverage.

Head of WHO office – Montenegro Country Office

My father was a lawyer as I grew up, and what I saw in his work shaped me from an early age. I learned to value integrity, defend the vulnerable and fight for justice. Those values still inspire me, and they drove me to dedicate my life to protecting the rights of others.

I began by studying law at the University of Montenegro and the University of Cambridge. Later I obtained a PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ljubljana.

Those roots launched me on a challenging and stimulating career. I have worked in both law and politics, and as a legal advisor in the private sector. I also managed a World Bank programme on health sector reform and co-authored one of the first laws on free access to information held by public authorities. Today I am head of the WHO Country Office for Montenegro.

Joining WHO may seem like a sharp change from working in law, but I believe these worlds share common goals. Just as a lawyer advocates for the rights of others, WHO helps people exercise the most fundamental of human rights: the right to health. I believe that no one should be left behind in our societies, and I continue to be motivated to serve the world’s most vulnerable.

I perform my role as Head of WHO office with pleasure and pride because I know that I am following my father’s footsteps and living my dream. Each day I rise to the challenges of my position, shifting between technical areas and different teams of people, all equally driven. This diversity and ambition are at the heart of what it means for me to be a part of WHO. With every action I take, I am living my passion. Here, I am home.

Health Emergency Officer – Headquarters, Switzerland

I was in my second year of medical school when our campus became the centre of growing social unrest in my country. Students provided medical support, and while I didn’t fully appreciate it back then, I had been exposed to my first large-scale medical emergency situation.  

That experience made me remember reading a book about the Red Cross movement and hearing about MSF’s work on the local news as a child. Those stories inspired my project for a 5th grade class assignment at school, where I wrote about medicine and health as a basic human right. Being a female from a conservative culture in a developing nation, joining an organization like that seemed out of reach at the time, but I never stopped working toward my goal. 

After medical school I worked with an NGO as a physician in a remote, rural area. Most patients there suffered from the poor nutrition and living conditions prevalent in their communities. These were problems that a clinician could only treat as they occurred, and I realized that I could make a wider and more sustainable impact by focusing on improvements in public health policies. I knew I could contribute to saving more lives through public health responses than I could by treating people in the emergency room. More specifically, I could see first-hand the connection between politics and health care, policy and practice, and decided I wanted to work in emergency situations at the public health level. 

Working for WHO came naturally from there, especially when I learned about the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. It’s been 4 years now, and I love being part of a team with so much expertise and experience. Learning from my colleagues and contributing to our projects has been so fulfilling. More than anything, it’s taught me that everyone has a role to play to improve health. Whether it’s helping your neighbours to enjoy healthier lives or responding to a global public health emergency, everyone has a responsibility to contribute, and we all benefit when we work together. 

Human Resources Officer – Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean

My name is Sahar Roshangar. I am from Afghanistan, a country that ranks among the least favourable for gender equality. The literacy rate for women is among the lowest in the world. I knew from a young age that I was fortunate to grow up in an educated and open-minded family. My father decided to move us to somewhere his daughters could all study, and that changed everything. My parents held down three jobs to provide for us.  

Although my return to Afghanistan found few opportunities for women, my education gave me options. I began in the UN at the national level, which lead to a Health Sector Resiliency project to support our own Ministry of Health. Daily life was difficult and dangerous, but I applied my father’s work ethic and learned a lot about public health and its impact on people’s lives.

Eventually, with my aim set on public health, I joined the UN Volunteer programme to gain international experience. Just as my parents had done years before, I then moved my family to join WHO in a safer environment where I could still pursue resiliency in the public health sector. Today, I work in the Polio Eradication Programme in Amman, and I feel privileged and happy to support such an impactful WHO initiative. 

Working with WHO in dynamic and international settings with a multicultural workforce and opportunities for professional development motivated me in my career. Working fulltime and raising my child isn’t easy, but I have found WHO provides enough flexibility for a work-life balance, and the job has been incredibly rewarding. I love knowing that I am a member of the WHO family and can make a real difference in people’s lives. I’ve come a long way and broken many barriers, and I’m proud to be able to live my family’s values in my work with WHO. 

Languages Coordinator – Regional Office for Europe

Languages have always been my passion. Being a daughter of two language professionals, I grew up with the sound of typewriters, surrounded by dictionaries and manuscripts. After studying history at university, my career soon moved to professional translation. It was a dream come true to begin working with the WHO Regional Office for Europe as a Russian translator, and later as the Languages Coordinator.

I am passionate about multilingualism and believe that language helps to define our identity. Despite being multilingual myself, my native Russian allows me to express myself to the fullest, and knowing this drives me to help others by contributing to multilingualism within WHO. I consider this one of my most important missions as a professional. For me, leaving no one behind means speaking and writing in the languages of the Member States WHO represents.

When I was working as a freelancer, the translator’s job seemed lonely. In contrast, providing language services with WHO is very much a group effort. Today I am proud to manage a team of a top-notch professionals and wonderful colleagues.

I consider myself very privileged to be working for WHO with wonderful people in support of a good cause. It’s so satisfying after a long and busy day to close my computer and know I have contributed to something important.

I am Masha Greenblat. I am a translator, proudly international and a citizen of both the Russian Federation and the United States of America. I am WHO, and I love my job.

Technical Officer – Indonesia Country Office

My career in WHO, eight years on and off, began with an internship. With an understanding that a career in public health would be multifaceted and a keen interest to having a well-rounded experience, I set out to gain diverse experience in multilateral, bilateral, public, nongovernmental and private settings covering global, regional, national and local levels. In my pursuit to enrich my career in evidence-informed practice and policy, I wanted an internship at a global multilateral organization, and this experience ended up being an unexpected career milestone.

I was given an opportunity to undertake a social inequity analysis examining HIV infections in urban areas in 23 countries and was able to contribute the findings to a global report on health inequities in urban settings. This was an incredible opportunity for an intern, but the bigger gain was understanding first hand that WHO is not just about crunching numbers and creating global guidelines; it’s also about having the best interest in the countries it serves and supporting them to make the informed public health decisions by offering a robust and reliable body of evidence and technical support, with no agenda other than public health.

I’m in an evolving career path in the field of public health. In WHO, I have now worked at the global, regional and country levels. I have had the privilege of working in a team of experts on health governance, education, law, environment, emergency, infectious diseases and more using WHO’s unique platform to convene, persuade, advise, coordinate and catalyze evidence-informed public health policies.