On 27 June, the Institute’s Global Health Centre organised a farewell event for World Health Organization Director-General, Margaret Chan, celebrating her ten years of leadership on global health. Friends and colleagues from around the world shared memories of Dr Chan’s term in office, which ends on 30 June.

Ilona Kickbusch, Director of the Global Health Centre, was joined onstage by UNOG Director Michael Møller, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kate Gilmore, IFRC Secretary General ElHadj As Sy, Sierra Leone Ambassador Yvette Stevens and Tania Dussey-Cavassini, Vice Director General at Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health.

“It’s quite nerve-wracking to hear people who you’ve worked with describe you”, said Dr Chan, “you’ve brought tears to my eyes. 10 years is a long time and it’s been an eventful decade. The world has gone through financial crisis, food crisis, oil crisis, health and humanitarian crisis, unprecedented movements of people, violence against women and against healthcare workers and institutions.”

“We’re entering into a world of complexity, full of uncertainty. I truly believe in transparency, accountability and measurement. The question is how we’re going to do that if we can’t distinguish between facts and post-facts. It’s going to be exciting and interesting as we travel through the next five years.”

A video of the event is available to watch here.