Matshidiso Rebecca MOETI was elected WHO Regional Director for Africa in February 2015 – the first woman to fill this position. Dr Moeti is a public health veteran, with more than 35 years of national and international experience. She joined the WHO Regional Office for Africa in 1999 and has served as Deputy Regional Director, Assistant Regional Director, Director of Non-communicable Diseases, WHO Representative for Malawi and Coordinator of the Inter-Country Support Team for the South and East African countries. As the WHO Regional Director, Dr Moeti aims to build a responsive, effective and result-driven regional secretariat that can advance efforts towards universal health coverage and accelerate progress towards the global development goals while tackling emerging threats and cultivating strong partnerships.