Professor Palokinam T. PITCHE, the new DG of WAHO
University hospital physician and public health specialist, Professor Palokinam T. PITCHE, has assumes office as the new Director-General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), the specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in charge of health issues,.
Professor PITCHE who formally assumed office today, brings more than twenty-five years of professional experience in health services administration, programme management, health systems strengthening, the training of health professionals, and the coordination of government stakeholders, technical and financial partners, and community organisations.
He also has extensive experience in resource mobilisation and the management of programmes funded by bilateral and multilateral partners.
Prior to his appointment as Director General of WAHO, he served as National Coordinator of Togo’s National AIDS Control Programme from 2007 to 2012. In 2012, he became National Coordinator of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Council for the Fight against AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (CNLS-IST), a multisectoral body under the Presidency of the Togolese Republic.
His career also has a strong regional and international dimension. Since 1996, he has undertaken various consultancy assignments for institutions and partners including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), WAHO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). His work has notably focused on the development of policies and strategic plans, resource mobilisation, as well as the harmonisation of HIV care protocols and postgraduate training curricula across ECOWAS Member States.
A senior lecturer in Dermatology and Venereology at CAMES since July 2007, Professor PITCHE has held the Agrégation de Médecine since 2002 and holds a State Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Lomé. He also holds several specialised degrees and certifications, particularly in dermatology and venereology, epidemiology, HIV, parasitology and tropical medicine, as well as immunology, vaccinology and biotechnology applied to infectious diseases. His academic training has taken him to Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Paris-Sud University, Johns Hopkins University/CDC and WHO in Geneva.
A lecturer at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Lomé since 1997, he contributes to the training of medical students and health professionals, as well as the supervision of scientific research. He is also a hospital physician at the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital in Lomé, where he has served as Head of the Dermatology and Venereology Department since 2015.
Complementing this extensive professional experience is a substantial body of scientific work. He is the author and co-author of more than 250 scientific articles and four books, mainly in the fields of dermatology, sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and sexual health.
Professor Palokinam T. PITCHE’s assumption of office marks a new chapter in the leadership of WAHO, with the mission of continuing the Organisation’s efforts to strengthen regional health cooperation and improve the health of populations across the ECOWAS region.
