Dr. Wahid Majrooh is a physician, global health professional, health diplomat, and former Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan, with over 17 years of experience spanning health leadership, policy, health systems strengthening, diplomacy, international relations, and work in conflict- and fragility-affected settings. As Minister of Public Health, he led Afghanistan’s health system through the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflict, and the political transition of August 2021, overseeing a national health system of more than 3,700 health facilities and supporting the national COVID-19 vaccination programme. Dr. Majrooh represented Afghanistan on the WHO Executive Board (2021–2024), in addition to serving as an Alternate Board Member of Gavi. His work has focused particularly on the intersection of health, diplomacy, geopolitics, governance, and humanitarian action. Currently, based in Geneva, Dr. Majrooh is Founder and Executive Director of the Afghanistan Center for Health and Peace Studies (ACHPS), a Member of Gavi’s Independent Review Committee, Course Director for Global Health Security at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), an Executive-in-Residence Fellow at GCSP, and an Academic Fellow at the Geneva Humanitarian Studies Center. He is also Course Founder and Director of the Advanced Global Health Diplomacy Course at the University of Geneva’s Global Health Institute, co-branded with the Graduate Institute, and contributes to teaching, research, and policy discussions on global health diplomacy, health security, geopolitics, health systems resilience, and humanitarian negotiation. He serves as Associate Editor of Conflict and Health. Dr. Majrooh holds an MD from Herat University, an MSc in Global Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, an MA in Political Science, and a Master of Advanced Studies in International Security from the University of Geneva and GCSP.
Recent Publication:
2025. “The devastating impact of the Taliban’s ban on midwifery and nursing schools.” The Lancet Global Health, 13(2).
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(25)00063-4/fulltext