The committee will assess the functioning of WHO’s international health regulations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rabat – Moroccan health professional Dr. Mohamed Moussif is joining the World Health Organization’s (WHO) committee of experts set to evaluate its International Health Regulations (IHR).
Dr. Mohamed Moussif has served as the chief medical officer at the Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca since 1996, according to his WHO biography.
He was responsible for the airport’s monitoring, management, and entry screening operations during outbreaks of SARS, the Avian Flu, H1N1, Ebola in West Africa, Zika, and Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He holds a Master’s in Public Health, an MBA in Health Structures Management, a diploma in Aviation Medicine from the European School of Aviation Medicine in Frankfurt, and a certificate in Travel Medicine from the German Society of Travel Medicine.
Dr. Mohamed Moussif has carried out more than 40 missions for WHO and is set to continue making valuable contributions to the organization’s global efforts as part of the IHR evaluation committee.
The committee of 23 experts is set to begin its work on Tuesday.
Among the experts is Dr. Lucille Blumberg, a South African health professional at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.
The CEO of the Pasteur Institut in Dakar, Dr. Amadou Sall, is also a member.
The committee will assess the functioning of WHO’s International Health Regulations in the context of COVID-19.
From Europe, Dr. Lothar Wieler, the president of the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, is on the committee, as well.
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The committee will also recommend changes it deems necessary and examine the declaration of a public health emergency of international concern.
The examination includes focusing on the role and functioning of IHR National Focal Points and the progress made in implementing recommendations from previous IHR services committees.
Dr. Mohamed Moussif and his fellow experts are set to deliver an interim report in November 2020, when the World Health Assembly is set to resume, and a final report in May 2021. The assembly suspended its work in May 2020.
The General Director of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech on Monday that the IHR is the “most important legal instrument in global health security.”
