Dr. Gina SAMAAN is a prominent Field Epidemiologist and global health leader currently serving as the Regional Emergency Director for the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region. Based in the Philippines, she oversees WHO’s programmes to strengthen preparedness and response to pandemics and other emergencies across the region covering 38 countries and areas. She has served WHO at the country, regional, and headquarters levels, and has historically implemented major initiatives on pathogen genomic surveillance and influenza access-and-benefit sharing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led country support, technical monitoring, and liaison with the U.N. country teams through the U.N. Development Coordination Office. She previously worked and consulted for agencies including U.S.-CDC, USAID, DFAT and DOHA Australia, IOM and RTI International to implement public health initiatives and refugee health programmes. In 2022, she was awarded the WHO Director-General’s Global Award for Excellence. She is also an awardee of the Prime Minister’s Australia-Asia Endeavour Award.