Dr. Jean Marie Okwo-Bele is a Congolese physician, public health expert, and former Director of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals at the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2004 to 2017. He is currently the Director on the Board of Trustees of the International Vaccine Institute and a member of the Leadership Coalition Group of the World Federation of Public Health Associations. Dr. Okwo-Bele has been involved in various WHO emergency panels, including the WHO Review Committee on the Functioning of the International Health Regulations during the COVID-19 response and the WHO Emergency Committee on Ebola Virus Disease Outbreaks. He has a rich background in public health, having worked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the WHO regional office for Africa, and UNICEF. Dr. Okwo-Bele received his medical degree from the University of Kinshasa and his master’s degree in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has been recognized for his contributions to polio eradication in Africa and has authored over 20 articles and book chapters on vaccines and immunization.
