Guillaume Simonian

Guillaume Simonian

Head of Humanitarian Policies and interagency Coordination Unit at Headquarters.

Guillaume Simonian wears many hats in the WHO Country Office in Ukraine but the one that stands out is the “A-Team” hat that he wears whenever an emergency strikes, anywhere in Ukraine. It stays on while he and his team work to help those in need until, he says, “the cavalry arrives.” He manages the Ukrainian incident management system team, which responds to emergencies until the network of strategic processes, partners and practical support laid out in WHO’s emergency framework can provide backup or until the event is fully responded to. In Ukraine, the list of possible emergencies is long and varied, including disease outbreaks, conflicts and floods. These are all exacerbated by a health system in constant reform since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The intricacies of how political change affect health in eastern European and Caucuses regions is interesting to Guillaume who enjoyed Gogol, Griboyedov, Dostoyevski, Tolstoy, Shevshenko;and Kundera’s classic and modern literature as a student. “These writings have painted the soul and spirit of this interesting region and being a WHO staff member here offers an opportunity to live this reality and to support local populations in writing the next page of this socially and culturally rich environment.”