Dr Mike Ryan, the Sligo-born epidemiologist who became synonymous with the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, has been dropped from the new executive management team at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
WHO staff, already reeling at the prospect of significant job losses in a major downsizing forced by funding shortfalls, were taken by surprise at the announcement as Dr Ryan was only appointed in April last year to the role of WHO deputy-director general.
The 60-year-old recipient of the Presidential Distinguished Service Award from President Michael D Higgins also served as executive director of WHO’s health emergencies programme, the largest department in the organisation, since 2019.
Dr Ryan has been managing health emergencies in WHO for the past 27 years, and most recently led WHO’s emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The organisational changes come into effect on June 16th, and see the senior management team reduced from 14 to seven, the number of divisions from 10 to four, and a reduction in the number of departments from 76 to 34 as WHO faces a funding gap of $1.7 billion in its $4.2 billion budget over the next two years.
WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “the hard truth is that we need to reduce salary expenditures by 25 per cent” as he highlighted a salary gap for next two years of more than $500 million.
In remarks to the programme, budget and administration committee of the executive board, he said the new executive team – announced on Wednesday – had been chosen to ensure gender balance and geographical representation, and was the result of “an extremely difficult and painful decision for me”.
Dr Ryan is being replaced by Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, a Nigerian-German who is currently head of health emergency intelligence and surveillance at a WHO pandemic hub in Berlin and he was previously the first director general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
In a letter to staff on Wednesday, Dr Tedros said Dr Ryan’s “dedication to emergency response has changed how we work, helping us face unprecedented challenges with compassion and effectiveness”.
He added: “Mike planned to leave over two years ago but stayed on at my request, and I am very thankful for that. His steady presence has been instrumental during our toughest times, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
WHO has been thrown into crisis by US president Donald Trump’s executive order directing the US to withdraw from WHO; the US contributed $1.3 billion to WHO during the 2022-2023 biennium, funding which it will be difficult to replace.
The same executive order directed that secretary of state Marco Rubio end negotiations on the WHO pandemic agreement which Dr Ryan played a key role in initiating and bringing to a stage where it is expected to be adopted by UN member states at the World Health Assembly which opens on May 19th.
Dr Ryan was not available for comment, and it remains to be seen if he will attend the assembly.
Sir David Nabarro, the former UN envoy on Ebola, recalled working with Dr Ryan in Sierra Leone, and told The Irish Times: “If you go on a journey with Mike Ryan you never forget it because he just manages to connect with people to their hearts and souls in a very direct manner. He is an exceptional person, shows great leadership and has made an outstanding contribution to global health.”
Prof David Heymann, who holds the chair of infectious epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “Mike is an excellent epidemiologist and an excellent field person. He has huge energy and enthusiasm. He demands a lot of others and he gives a lot himself.”
