Dr Ihor Perehinets

Dr Ihor Perehinets has over 15 years of experience working with WHO/Europe and the Ukrainian Ministry of Health. With a doctorate in medicine from Lviv State Medical University (Ukraine) and a master’s degree in public health from San José State University (United States of America), Dr Perehinets’s combines a visionary approach to public health with robust technical expertise. His pioneering initiatives in health-care reform, disease prevention and health system governance have enhanced resilience and health security throughout the WHO European Region.

Dr Perehinets joined the WHO Country Office in Ukraine in 2009, later becoming Deputy WHO Representative. As such, he was instrumental in coordinating health-care reform between WHO/Europe and the Ukrainian Government, shaping essential national health regulations and humanitarian response protocols.

In 2015 Dr Perehinets served as Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Health, leading extensive reforms in health financing, procurement and public health services aligned with the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement. Managing a US$ 95 million annual procurement portfolio and overseeing a US$ 214 million World Bank-backed health-system reform project, he drove innovations in public health policy and health system modernization that elevated standards across Ukraine.

Returning to WHO/Europe in 2016, first as a technical adviser and later as a leader in the health system governance programme, Dr Perehinets managed WHO's first regional initiative on health system strengthening for tuberculosis. In 2019 he spearheaded the health systems transformation initiative, supporting efforts to strengthen national health system governance.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Dr Perehinets took on a critical role in WHO’s Health Emergency Programme, co-leading the Public Health and Social Measures Pillar and developing the Preparedness 2.0 action plan for regional health emergency readiness. Under his direction, WHO’s country health emergency preparedness team intensified support for Member States, producing over 15 national action plans for health security.

With a distinguished career dedicated to enhancing eastern Europe's health systems, Dr Perehinets remains committed to advancing public health resilience and advocating for robust, responsive health services that safeguard communities across the European continent.