Dr Gina Samaan is the Regional Emergency Director of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific covering 38 countries and areas.  She is an infectious disease epidemiologist who first joined WHO in 2004 and has served at all three levels of the organization focusing on emergency preparedness and response.

During COVID-19, she worked with the UN system to coordinate country technical support. She has previously worked for government and non-governmental institutions to design and implement public health and humanitarian response initiatives. In 2022, she received the WHO Director-General’s Global Award for Excellence.