Slim Slama is an Internal Medicine specialist and a public health expert with over 25 years of experience in global health. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) at Qatar Foundation.

Dr Slama started his career as a clinician, serving as an Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine at the Geneva University Hospital for 16 years, where he contributed to the establishment of global health as an academic discipline at the University of Geneva.

 

Dr. Slama's extensive career includes more than a decade at the World Health Organization (WHO). In his role as Regional Adviser for Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) prevention and management at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, he advised 22 Member States on scaling up their efforts to prevent and control NCDs. Following this, he transitioned to WHO Headquarters in Geneva as the Head of the Management-Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Unit (MND). There, he provided strategic leadership and oversaw the development and implementation of a broad portfolio focused on early detection, diagnosis, and management of NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, oral health, and digital health solutions. His work also extended to implementation research and managing NCDs in humanitarian settings.

 

During his WHO tenure, Dr Slama oversaw the development and supported the implementation of several major WHO cancer flagship initiatives, such as the Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative, The Global Childhood Cancer Initiative and the Global Breast Cancer Initiative.

 

Dr Slama holds a Swiss Board Medical Degree in Internal Medicine and a master’s degree of Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Additionally, he co-founded and served as the Programme Director of the Geneva Health Forum, which promotes action-driven and innovative debate around healthcare issues.