Lee Jong-Wook, director-general of the World Health Organization since 2003, died unexpectedly Monday morning (May 22) after surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. He was 61 years old. This morning, the WHO announced it was appointing Anders Nordström, now assistant director-general for general management, as acting director-general.Lee, a South Korean national, served the WHO for 23 years, previously as senior policy advisor, head of the WHO Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunizations, and director of Stop TB, among many other roles.With quiet clarity and conviction, Lee set out ambitious goals for the WHO and for world leaders, such as the "3 by 5" plan that aimed to provide three million people with HIV/AIDS in poor countries with access to treatment by the end of 2005. Though this target has not yet been met, his commitment to the project and its successes are widely credited with making universal...
The Scientistin 2003David HeymannThe ScientistThe ScientistTimeiganguli@the-scientist.comhttp://www.who.int/en/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2006/s08/en/http://www.who.int/dg/lee/tribute/en/The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/21339/http://www.polio.pitt.edu/speakers/heymann.htm
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