Press release
02 April 2012
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
The world's first Health Ambassador
Today, the Government appointed Anders Nordström Health Ambassador with special responsibility for Sweden's efforts for global health.
The appointment is an expression of the central role of health issues in Swedens development cooperation, says Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson. "I would like to see that we take a coherent approach to Swedens total health aid to see how we can develop and strengthen it with the objective of saving the lives of even more women and children."
Achieving the UN's Millennium Development Goals plays a key role in Swedish development policy. Efforts related to the Millennium Development Goals 46 will be of particular relevance for the Health Ambassador.
The Health Ambassador will represent Sweden in contacts and dialogues with international organisations in the UN system, the EU, and the regional development banks when development-related health issues are on the agenda.
Mr Nordström is today a board member of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the GAVI Alliance and UNAIDS. Continued cooperation with the WHO is also central to the efforts.
The post of Ambassador aims to strengthen Swedens capacity and opportunities in both the area of dialogue and negotiations, in bilateral and multilateral contexts, but also in relation to the private sector and civil society, which play key roles in international health efforts.
The Health Ambassador will work closely with Sida and with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control and the Swedish National Institute of Public Health.
Mr Nordström is a medical doctor, with a degree from the Karolinska Institut, and has held leading positions at the Red Cross, Sida and the WHO.
