Luis Andrés de Francisco Serpa, MD, PhD, MSc, DTM&H, is the Director of the Department of Family, Health Promotion and Life Course (FPL) at the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). Dr. de Francisco obtained his MD degree from University of Rosario in Colombia, Master’s degree Clinical Tropical Medicine, and a Master’s degree in Community Health in Developing Countries from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He obtained a PhD in Medicine from the University of London, UK in 1991.
He has over 30 years of career dedicated to public health throughout the life course, including shaping programs for maternal, child, adolescent, adult, and ageing population groups. He has special interest in the integration and impact of health programs and interventions centered in people and communities through Primary Health Care approaches.
Dr. de Francisco has work experience in South East Asia, West Africa, South America, Europe and the USA. He joined WHO in 2008, was appointed Deputy Executive Director, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) in Geneva. Dr. de Francisco has been at PAHO in Washington, D.C., as director for FPL, since 2016. He has authored over one hundred publications in matters related to public health.