On behalf of the Austin Health Medical Alumni Association, I am very sad to acknowledge the recent sudden death of Dr Peter Salama.
Dr Salama was a student at the Austin Clinical School and graduated in 1993. Dr Salama's career as a medical epidemiologist began with a Master of Public Health at Harvard University in 1997 (where he was a Harkness and Fulbright Scholar in public policy).
Dr Salama completed the prestigious Epidemic Intelligence Service program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta in 2001. He also worked as a medical officer with the international humanitarian organizations Concern and Médecins Sans Frontières.
He worked for UNICEF from 2002 where he became Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa before joining the WHO in 2016 as Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies programme, which he led until 2019, when he began a role as Executive Director of WHO’s Division for Universal Health Coverage – Life Course.
Dr Salama’s range of professional experiences at country, regional and global levels were truly exceptional. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of public health, infectious disease and humanitarianism; and his experiences at local through to executive levels gave him unparalleled insights into the practicalities of meeting health needs in the most challenging circumstances.
We offer our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
Dr Peter Salama
Austin Clinical School 1993
Memorial will be held at Xavier College Chapel, Barkers Rd Kew
Sunday 15 March at 3pm
Gwynne Thomas
Emeritus A/Professor Gwynne W Thomas OAM President Austin Health Medical Alumni Association
