Luís Gomes Sambo

Luís Gomes Sambo (born c. 1950) is an Angolan medical doctor and politician who served as vice minister of health. He previously worked at the World Health Organization (WHO) in various positions before rising to the position of regional director in 2005.^[4] His term as director ended on 31 January 2015.^[1]

Luís Gomes Sambo
Regional Director of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa
In office 2005 – 31 January 2015^[1]
Preceded by	Ebrahim M. Samba^[2]
Succeeded by	Matshidiso Moeti
National Assembly Member
In office ?–?
Vice Minister of Health
In office 1983–1988
President	José Eduardo dos Santos
Personal details
Born	c. 1950 (age 73–74)^[3]
Education	University of Angola, Portuguese Medical Association, University of Hull
Occupation	Physician, politician

Education

Sambo studied for a bachelor's degree in medicine at the University of Angola and a diploma in Public Health at the Portuguese Medical Association. After his medical studies, he enrolled for a PhD in Management at the University of Hull, United Kingdom.^[2][5]

Career

Sambo entered civil service in the ministry of health. He was director of Health Services in Cabinda Province and later became the director of the International Cooperation department of the Ministry of Health.^[4] After this he was appointed vice-minister of health serving concurrently as chair of the National Health Committee and coordinator of public hospitals in Luanda.^[6] At the international level, he served as WHO's regional director for Africa, director of programme management, and director of the Division of Health Services Development. He later became country representative for Guinea Bissau and chief of the Inter-Country Strategic Support Team for Southern/East African countries.^[7][2][8]

He belongs to multiple medical organizations including the Portuguese Medical Association, International Editorial Board of the Global Library of Women's Medicine, and the International Society of Systems Sciences. He is currently a member of the Angolan parliament.^[2]

References

1. "Sixty-fourth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa". World Health Organization African Region. 2014. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
2. Kapp, Clare (February 2005). "Luis Gomes Sambo takes over as WHO's AFRO chief". The Lancet. 365 (9458): 467. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)17852-0. ISSN 0140-6736. S2CID 32872667.
3. "Gomes Sambo Luis". Meeting in Rimini. 2009. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
4. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, vol. 12, 2012-10-19, doi:10.18697/ajfand.54, ISSN 1684-5374
5. "Dr Luis Gomes Sambo". World Health Organization. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
6. Sambo, Luis Gomes; Kirigia, Joses Muthuri (2014-10-28). "Investing in health systems for universal health coverage in Africa". BMC International Health and Human Rights. 14 (1): 28. doi:10.1186/s12914-014-0028-5. ISSN 1472-698X. PMC 4422225. PMID 25345988. S2CID 16254306.
7. "SLAC Chief Steps Down". Science. 282 (5395): 1811c–1811. 1998-12-04. doi:10.1126/science.282.5395.1811c. S2CID 172202929.
8. "The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, has called for a "special approach" to address the needs of children with HIV infections/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria". Inpharma Weekly (1537): 3. May 2006. doi:10.2165/00128413-200615370-00003. ISSN 1173-8324. S2CID 195110411.

Preceded by Ebrahim M. Samba 1995-2005

WHO Regional Director for Africa 2005-2015

Succeeded by Matshidiso Moeti 2015-present