María Neira
Doctor and an international expert in public health, the environment and social determinants of health. She is the current Director of the Department of Public Health, Environment and Climate Change at the WHO, a position she has held since 2005.
She graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Oviedo, specialized in Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases at the Université René Descartes (Paris), obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health and a diploma in Nutrition from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, and completed an International diploma in Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management at the University of Geneva.
Her career includes extensive international experience: she worked with Médecins Sans Frontières in Central American countries in conflict situations; she was a public health advisor in Mozambique and Rwanda for the UN; and she joined the WHO in 1993 as coordinator of the Global Task Force for Cholera Control. She later became Director of Control, Prevention and Eradication before assuming her current role.
Between 2002 and 2005, she served as Deputy Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs in Spain and President of the Spanish Food Safety Agency, which gave her solid experience in national public health policies.
María Neira has been internationally recognised for her commitment to public health, nutrition, prevention, and the link between health and the environment. In 2025, she received the Scientific Career Award for her contribution to global well-being, with a particular focus on environmental health and climate change.
Her area of expertise covers global public health, environmental health, climate change, pollution, nutrition, preventive health, response to health crisis and international health governance.
