Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, a Senior Lecturer at the Health Services Management Department within the Faculty of Health Sciences, has been appointed as the new Director of Country Health Policies & Systems at the World Health Organisation.
She announced the "start of a new chapter" in her professional life on her personal social media profile.
"I am truly looking forward to working with Hans Kluge, EURO colleagues & my former networks in Malta & Europe in this critically important time for health & humanity", she continued.
Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat is a medical doctor specialised in public health, and is presently also serving on the EU Expert Panel on Effective Ways of Investing in Health for the period 2019-2022. She also heads the WHO Collaborating Centre on Health Systems and Policies in Small States.
She previously held various senior positions at the Ministry of Health in Malta, including Chief Medical Officer, Director General Strategy and Director EU & International Affairs. Natasha was a founding member and President of the Malta Association of Public Health Medicine. She was a board member on the Occupational Health & Safety Authority, Foundation for Medical Services and Medical Association of Malta.
Her main area of research is European health policy with a particular interest in small state health systems. She has authored several publications on this topic. Natasha is an associate editor of the European Journal of Public Health and BMC Health Services Research. She is involved in several European research projects and networks.
She is not the only Maltese person to hold a prominent role within the World Health Organisation - physician Gauden Galea led a team of experts in Wuhan, China, as part of a WHO investigation of COVID-19.