Mohamed Yakub Janabi

Mohamed Yakub Janabi (born 25 December 1962) is a Tanzanian cardiologist, public health expert, and the Regional Director of the World Health Organization African Region (WHO-AFRO). He has over 30 years of experience in medicine, health policy, and international health diplomacy. Before his election in May 2025, he served as the Executive Director of Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Tanzania’s largest public hospital, and as a senior health advisor to the President of Tanzania. He assumed office as WHO Regional Director on 30 June 2025.

Early life and education Janabi was born on 25 December 1962 in Moshi, located in the Kilimanjaro Region of northern Tanzania. He earned his Doctor of Medicine (MD) from Kharkiv Medical Institute in Ukraine in 1989. In 1994, he obtained a Master's degree in Tropical Medicine (MSc) from the University of Queensland in Australia. He later earned a PhD in cardiology from Osaka University in Japan in 2000. He also completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in cardiology at Osaka University Hospital in 2004.