Walid Ammar

Professor Walid Ammar is currently, Director of the Doctorate and Research in Public Health Program at St. Joseph University in Beirut, and the chairman of the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee (IOAC) of the WHO. He served as Director General of the Ministry of Public Health of Lebanon (1993-2020). Under his leadership, reform efforts led to significant improvement in health indicators while decreasing the GDP share of health expenditures. He established the Primary Health Care Network in Lebanon, led the Hospital Accreditation Program, and introduced performance contracting with the private sector. His innovative collaborative leadership and open networking model of governance lied behind these achievements and the resilience of the health system. Professor Ammar was appointed in 2011, Commissioner in the United Nations Commission on Information & Accountability for Women & Children’s Health. He served as a member of the Executive Board (EB) at the World Health Organization (2012-2015). He has published over 200 per-reviewed papers and book chapters in addition to two books: “Health System and Reform in Lebanon” (2003), “Health Beyond Politics” (2009). Professor Ammar is an Honorary Member of the Delta Omega Society (2013) and the recipient of the WHO Shousha Foundation Prize (2016). He is Officer in both the French National Order of Merit and the Belgium’s National Order of the Crown. He was awarded in June 2020, the Golden Medal of the National Order of the Health Merit by the President of the Republic of Lebanon. wammarmd@gmail.com / walid.ammar@usj.edu.lb