Dr Per Ashorn

Per Ashorn holds MD and PhD degrees from Finland and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine from Sweden. He is a specialist in paediatrics and paediatric infectious diseases and has previously worked a laboratory scientist, a clinician, a university teacher, an administrator, and a public health specialist.

Per has lived and worked in Europe, Americas, and Africa and actively collaborated on maternal and child health projects also in Asia and Western Pacific.

He has published over 300 scientific articles, especially on the interaction of infections and nutrition on maternal, newborn and child health and development.

Prior to re-joining WHO in September 2024, Per Ashorn served as a Professor of Paediatrics and Director of the Center for Child, Adolescent and Maternal Health Research at Tampere University and Tampere University Hospital in Finland. In that role, he was a member of WHO’s Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent health and nutrition (STAGE).