The West African Health Organisation (WAHO), the specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in charge of health issues, welcomes its new Director General, Professor Palokinam T. PITCHE, who assumes office on 1st September 2026.
A hospital-based academic physician and public health specialist, Professor PITCHE has more than twenty-five years of experience in health services administration, programme management, health systems strengthening, the training of health professionals, and the coordination of government stakeholders, technical and financial partners, and community-based organisations. He also has extensive experience in resource mobilisation and in managing programmes funded by bilateral and multilateral partners.
Prior to his appointment as Director General of WAHO, he notably served as National Coordinator of Togo’s National AIDS Control Programme from 2007 to 2012. From 2012 until his appointment to WAHO, he served as National Coordinator of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Council for the Fight against AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (CNLS-IST), a multisectoral body attached to the Presidency of the Togolese Republic.
His career also has a strong regional and international dimension. Since 1996, he has undertaken various consultancy assignments for institutions and partners including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), WAHO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). His work has focused in particular on the development of policies and strategic plans, resource mobilisation, and the harmonisation of HIV care protocols and postdoctoral training curricula across ECOWAS Member States.
A Full Professor of Dermatology and Venereology of CAMES since July 2007, Professor PITCHE obtained his Agrégation in Medicine in 2002 and holds a State Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Lomé. He also holds several specialised qualifications and certifications, notably in dermatology and venereology, epidemiology, HIV, parasitology and tropical medicine, as well as immunology, vaccinology and biotechnology applied to infectious diseases. His academic and professional training has taken him to Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Paris-Sud University, Johns Hopkins University/CDC, and WHO in Geneva.
A lecturer at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Lomé since 1997, he contributes to the training of medical students and health professionals, as well as to the supervision of scientific research. As a hospital physician at the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital in Lomé, he has served as Head of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology since 2015.
In addition to his extensive professional experience, Professor PITCHE has made a significant contribution to scientific research. He is the author and co-author of more than 250 scientific articles and four books, mainly focusing on dermatology, sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and sexual health.
Professor Palokinam T. PITCHE’s assumption of office thus marks a new chapter in the leadership of WAHO, with the mission of advancing the Organisation’s efforts to strengthen regional health cooperation and improve the health of populations across the ECOWAS region.
