Programme Area Manager, Country Health Emergency Preparedness and International Health Regulations, WHO

Policy Fellow of the Centre for Science and Policy

Haris Hajrulahovic took up the position of Programme Area Manager, Country Health Emergency Preparedness and International Health Regulations (2005) at the WHO Regional Office for Europe in October 2018. He is managing the regional work in the development, implementation and oversight of relevant strategies, programmes of work and annual work plans in country health emergency preparedness and International Health Regulations (2005). Haris is Pillar Lead, Emergency Public Health and Social Measures, in the WHO Incident Management System Team for the COVID-19 response in WHO European Region.

Haris has an extensive country work experience he gained as WHO Representative in the Republic of Moldova (2015 – 2019) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2003 – 2015). As WHO Representative, he was acting as an upstream policy advisor to the government, promoting an effective health dimension to social, economic, environmental and development policy through policy dialogue with the government senior government officials, bi-lateral and multi-lateral agencies, the UN system, non-governmental agencies and other partners. His responsibilities also included providing technical support to the development, implementation and evaluation of national health policies, strategies and plans, including risk assessment and response to the disaster events and public health emergencies.

While working at the country level in Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haris led a successful implementation of the six major health system and public health strengthening projects implemented in strategic partnership with the European Union, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Agency and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Haris was responsible for leading WHO emergency response and recovery operations at country level during the 2014 flooding in Bosnia and Herzegovina that affected around one million people.

Haris earned a graduate pharmacist degree from Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sarajevo. He holds Postgraduate Diploma in Health Systems Management and Master of Science in Public Health from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London. At the time of application for Policy Fellowship, Haris was a Master of Disaster Management candidate at School of Global Health, University of Copenhagen (expected graduation date – end of 2021).

Haris is a husband and a dad of a very special son.