Dr Abdinasir Abubakar, acting WHO Representative in LebanonDr Abdinasir Abubakar is currently acting WHO Representative in Lebanon. In addition, Dr Abubakar is the Programme Area Manager for the Infectious Hazard Prevention and Preparedness unit in the Health Emergencies Programme of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in Cairo, Egypt.

He leads the Incident Management Support Team for the COVID-19 pandemic response in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, which coordinates the response and provides technical support to 22 countries. 

He has more than 25 years of experience in public health and epidemiological research, working with national and international institutions. 

Dr Abdinasir has been involved in managing some of the worst epidemics within and outside the Region, including COVID-19, MERS-CoV, H5N1, meningococcal meningitis, cholera, Rift Valley fever, visceral leishmaniasis, anthrax and viral haemorrhagic fever. 

In the last 20 years, Dr Abdinasir has been providing technical support to Member States and partners on improving the national emergency and public health security capacities within the context of the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) to prevent and control emerging and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks. 

He has been involved in much operational research in the area of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including COVID-19, influenza, meningitis, cholera, yellow fever, nodding syndrome, visceral leishmaniasis and HIV/AIDS. He is the author and co-author of over 50 research articles published in international, peer-reviewed journals. 

Dr Abubakar has a degree in Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine of the Somali National University in Mogadishu and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and International Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, United States of America.