Dr Shigeru Omi is regioanl Director for WHO's Office for the Western Pacific Region.
Dr Shigeru Omi was born
in Tokyo, Japan, in June 1949. In 1967, on a scholarship from the
American Field Service, he attended Potsdam High School in New York and
graduated in 1968. He studied Law at Keio University in Japan from 1969
to 1971. He obtained his degree in Medicine from Jichi Medical School
in 1978. Dr Omi obtained his doctorate in the molecular biology of the
hepatitis B virus at the Jichi Medical School, Japan, in 1990. FCA
Dr
Omi has held a wide range of positions in the field of medicine and
public health. After graduation from medical school in 1978, he worked
as a Medical Officer in the Bureau of Public Health of the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government. The job included an assignment as the sole
medical doctor on remote islands in the Pacific, where he worked under
difficult conditions and with limited resources. From this field
activity, he proceeded in 1987 to do research on the molecular biology
of the hepatitis B virus at the Division of Immunology, Jichi Medical
School. During 1989-1990, Dr Omi served as Deputy Director in the
Office of Medical Guidance and Inspection, Bureau of Health Insurance,
in the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Japan. Dr Omi joined the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific
Regional Office in Manila, Philippines, in 1990 as the Responsible
Officer for the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). Dr Omi
spearheaded the regional poliomyelitis (polio) eradication initiative
in the Western It was during Dr Omi's first term as Regional Director that WHO
played the lead role in combating the outbreak of severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS), the first emerging and readily
transmissible disease of the 21st century. More than 95% of the SARS
cases occurred in the Western Pacific Region. He spearheaded efforts to
contain SARS by both tackling the medical issues and addressing the
sensitive political concerns inherent in such events. In May 2006, Dr Omi launched the book “SARS: How a global epidemic
was stopped”, which gives the first full and detailed account of the
outbreak. Speaking at the launch in Hong Kong, he explained one of the
reasons that he had asked for the book to be produced. “I wanted it to
serve as an enduring archival reference, giving future generations the
guidance they will need when facing similar public health threats.” During his first term, Dr Omi also gave special emphasis to
tuberculosis by making the "Stop TB" programme one of the Region's
flagship projects. Dr Omi was elected to a second term as Regional Director in January
2004. A month earlier, the A(H5N1) avian influenza virus was detected
in the Region. Much of Dr Omi's work in his second term has focused on
working with WHO Member States and various partner agencies to avert a
potential influenza pandemic. Dr Omi is married and has two children and a granddaughter.
Pacific Region. In 1995, he was promoted to the position of Director of
the Division of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control, a post he
held until 1998. In 1998-1999, Dr Omi was a professor of public health
at Jichi Medical School, Japan. In February 1999, Dr Omi assumed the
position of WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific.
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