Dr. Hans Kluge

Biography

Hans Henri P. Kluge began his term as Regional Director for Europe on February 1, 2020, after being nominated by the Regional Committee for Europe and appointed by the Executive Board. He has over 25 years of experience in medical practice and public health in various settings worldwide. He qualified in medicine, surgery, and obstetrics from the Catholic University of Leuven in 1994 and began his career as a family doctor in Belgium. In 1995, he joined Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Belgium, which marked the beginning of his international experience in emergency settings, working in Liberia and Somalia, where he coordinated tuberculosis (TB) control programmes and provided medical public health services in conflict zones. Kluge's work with MSF in TB control expanded as he took on roles such as coordinating programmes in prisons in Siberia and serving as the Regional TB Advisor for the Soviet Union countries in Moscow. He became the TB-HIV Project Manager for the Country Office in the Russian Federation in 1999, and from 2004 to 2009, he served as Medical Officer for TB and became the Team Leader for the three diseases unit (HIV, TB, malaria) in Myanmar, while also consulting on TB in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In 2009, he moved to the Regional Office for Europe and was appointed Director of the Division of Health Systems and Public Health, focusing on combatting multi/extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. Kluge has led the development of new visions for health systems in the European Region, emphasizing universal health coverage and financial protection, and building strong partnerships for health system reforms.

Research Interests