UN medical director

Dr. Jillann Farmer, the UN medical director for more than seven years, has returned to Australia to work for the Department of Health in Queensland. She led the UN’s internal health care system through such crises as the Ebola outbreak in 2014, but the coronavirus pandemic required the UN’s biggest medical-emergency response yet when it hit New York City in March.

Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, prepping for a virtual press briefing with him, April 30, 2020, UN headquarters. The secretary-general had asked the current UN medical director, Dr. Jillann Farmer, to extend her term a few months during the coronavirus crisis. But now she is returning to her home country, Australia. ESKINDER DEBEBE/UN PHOTO