Dr LEE Jong-wook, Director-General of the World Health Organization,
died this morning following a short illness.
Dr Lee, a national of the Republic of Korea, was a world leader in public
health. He tackled every challenge with passion, dedication and professionalism.
He was unfalteringly committed to WHO’s mission, to help all people to attain «the
highest possible level of health.»
Throughout his 23-year career at WHO, he made a difference in every programme
he managed – whether by leading the charge to eradicate polio from the Western
Pacific, or to launch a cutting edge Global Drug Facility so people would have
access to tuberculosis medicines.
“The world has lost a great man today”
—Kofi Annan, UN Secretary – General.
«The world has lost a great man today. LEE Jong-wook was a man of conviction and passion. He was a strong voice for the right of every man, woman and child to health prevention and care, and advocated on behalf of the very poorest people,» said United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. «He tackled the most difficult problems head on, while upholding the highest principles. He will be very gravely missed, but history will mark LEE Jong-wook’s many contributions to public health.»
While personally a modest man,
Dr LEE was a bold leader. When he
became Director-General, he took a risk
and announced that WHO would work
with partners to achieve «3 by 5» – to
ensure three million people with
HIV/AIDS would have access to the medicines
they needed by the end of 2005. «3 by 5» transformed the way leaders
thought about AIDS medicines for people
in poor countries. While the world fell
short of the target, the successes and
momentum of «3 by 5» demonstrated that
universal access to medicines was possible – and had become a moral imperative.
A few days before his death, Dr Lee
explained his vision of «universal access»
to staff in his office as he worked on his
speech to the World Health Assembly.
He said: «There can be no ‘comfort level’ in
the fight against HIV. We must keep up the
pressure to get prevention, treatment and
care linked and working. A key outcome of «3 by 5» was the commitment to universal
access to treatment by 2010. But what does
universal access mean? To me, this means
that no one should die because they can’t get
drugs. It means that no one will miss being
tested, diagnosed, treated and cared for
because there aren’t clinics.»
As Director-General, he led global efforts
to tackle avian influenza and to
prepare for a human influenza pandemic.
Pointing to the health, social and economic
devastation of historical influenza
pandemics, he stressed repeatedly that every
head of state should ensure their country
developed a national pandemic preparation
plan. He personally met with many heads of
state, including US President George Bush,
President Jacques Chirac, of France, and
President Hu Jintao of China.
He listened very well. He talked to the top
decision-makers, but sought out everyday
people to ask about their lives, as he traveled
the world. In his quiet way, he would find a
farmer, or a market stall holder, a nurse, or a
schoolchild and learn about them. Their personal
stories with their photographs were
often the anchor for his public statements on
global health policy.
Underscoring the recognition of his role,
Dr LEE was invited by President Vladimir Putin
to speak at the G8 Summit this July in St. Petersburg,
where the fight against infectious disease is one
of three major items on the agenda.
He took the fight against infectious diseases,
and particularly the threat of pandemic influenza
to a new level. He had a simple message: ‘Prepare
for a pandemic now, before it is too
late.»World leaders took it to heart and acted.
Because of his conviction, the world is now
better prepared for pandemic influenza than it
has ever has been in history.
In his very first speech to WHO staff as Director-General, Dr Lee vowed that WHO would do
the right things, in the right places. To him, the
right places were the countries that most
needed WHO’s support. In his nearly three years
as Director-General, Dr LEE traveled to more
than 60 countries, to visit health programmes
and the people they affected, and to meet with
the most senior leaders. He swiftly traveled to
places where his leadership was urgently needed – to immediately assess the health needs following
the Indian Ocean tsunami, the south
Asian earthquake and in the Darfur region of
Sudan, for example.
He considered WHO’s job as one of huge
responsibility to its 192 Member States, and
the health needs of their people. He
reformed WHO to help ensure it could meet
those needs more effectively, with a strong
focus on recruiting and retaining people with
the right skills. He insisted on a rigorous
financial strategy which reduced spending at
Headquarters, and gave more to the countries
where funding is most needed. This
required tough decisions, but he did not hesitate
to make them.
He preferred to lead by example, rather than
instruction. He led a healthy life, and embraced
life in Switzerland to its fullest. He loved skiing,
mountain biking, and walking. He would pause
at the office window and invite others to stand
with him, reflecting on the beauty of the lakes,
mountains and hills around him. During lunch
hours at WHO, he would often take walks
through the gardens, or a bike ride along the
paths. He took great pleasure in sharing good
food and wine. He also set an example across
the United Nations, with strict rules against
tobacco use, and the conversion of the fleet of
WHO cars to small, environmentally-friendly
fuel/electric vehicles.
Dr Lee had very wide-ranging intellectual
interests, with a great appetite for knowledge
and a hugely retentive memory. He often
surprised people with his precise recall of a
book or play that he was reading, or had read
many years ago, and its application to a
current situation. In spare moments he
enjoyed classical music, the theatre, reading
Shakespeare and other great literature. His
mother tongue was Korean but spoke fluent
English. He also spoke French and Japanese.
He will be very fondly remembered for his
self-deprecating wit. He often used his
quirky, unexpected humour either to put
people at ease, to diffuse a difficult situation,
or just to make his friends laugh with his
astute observations.
Dr Lee was the first UN agency head from
the Republic of Korea. He began his five-year
term as Director-General of WHO on 21 July,
2003.
He was 61 years old. He is survived by his
wife and son, two brothers and one sister and
their families.
© 2006 UN Special |