Rüdiger Krech (born 9 June 1964) is a German

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

expert who currently works as a senior official at the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO). An advocate for

universal health coverage Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

social determinants of health The social determinants of health (SDOH) are the economic and social conditions that influence individual and group differences in health status. They are the health promoting factors found in one's living and working conditions (such as the dist ...

Health in All Policies Health in All Policies (HiAP) was a term first used in Europe during the Finnish presidency of the European Union (EU), in 2006, with the aim of collaborating across sectors to achieve common goals. It is a strategy to include health considerations ...

and

social protection Social protection, as defined by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, is concerned with preventing, managing, and overcoming situations that adversely affect people's well-being. Social protection consists of policies and ...

, he is the Director of Health Promotion at WHO.

Life and career

Early career

Krech attended

Bielefeld University Bielefeld University () is a public university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization and teaching than the e ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

where he obtained his

Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL) are interdisciplinary profes ...

(MPH) and

Doctor of Public Health A Doctor of Public Health (abbr. DrPH, Dr.P.H. or D.P.H.; Latin ) is a doctoral degree awarded in the field of Public health, Public Health. DrPH is an advanced and terminal degree that prepares its recipients for a career in advancing public hea ...

(DrPH) degrees. In 1992, he joined the WHO's Regional Office for Europe in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, where he held various positions in the areas of

ageing Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biol ...

health promotion Health promotion is, as stated in the 1986 World Health Organization (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, the "process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health." Scope The WHO's 1986 Ottawa Charter for ...

, health policies and

health systems A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. There is a wide variety of health systems aroun ...

. In 2003, he joined the

German Technical Cooperation German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

(GTZ) where he worked as the Head of the Social Protection Section and the director of the Social Security Program in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In 2005, together with colleagues from the WHO and the

International Labour Office The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

, Krech formed the WHO-ILO-GTZ Consortium on Social Health Insurance, a collaborative effort to extend health protection coverage in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

. As a member of the German delegation in both the executive board of the WHO and the

World Health Assembly The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 World Health Organization#Membership, member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of h ...

between 2004 and 2009, he was also a chief negotiator of the resolution on sustainable health financing, universal coverage and social health insurance, passed in 2005.

World Health Organization

In October 2009, Krech returned to the World Health Organization, this time working at their headquarters in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

as the Director for Ethics, Equity, Trade and Human Rights, leading about 70 scientists and health professionals in developing innovative programs in those areas. In 2010, he was also appointed as a professor of global health at the

College of Europe The College of Europe (; ; ) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with three campuses in Bruges, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; and Tirana, Albania. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 as a result of the 1948 Congress of ...

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He was part of the organizing committee for the World Conference on the

Social Determinants of Health The social determinants of health (SDOH) are the economic and social conditions that influence individual and group differences in health status. They are the health promoting factors found in one's living and working conditions (such as the dist ...

that took place in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

from 19–21 October 2011. The conference lead to the Rio Political Declaration, which was a commitment from member states to reduce

health inequality Health equity arises from access to the social determinants of health, specifically from wealth, power and prestige. Individuals who have consistently been deprived of these three determinants are significantly disadvantaged from health inequiti ...

and promote development. In November 2013, he became the organization's Director for Universal Health Coverage and Health Systems at the office of the Assistant Director-General. He oversees its work in providing safe and effective medicines and health technologies, integrated people-centred health services, health financing and governance, health workforce, knowledge management, information, policy and research. In 2019, he was appointed as Director for Health Promotion at the World Health Organization. He oversees WHO‘s work on tobacco and alcohol control, physical activity, health law and fiscal policies for health, healthy settings, health literacy, community engagement and wellbeing.

Selected publications

* 2010: "Implications of the Adelaide Statement on Health in All Policies" (with N. Valentine, L. T. Reinders and D. Albrecht). ''

Bulletin of the World Health Organization The ''Bulletin of the World Health Organization'' is a monthly public health journal published by the World Health Organization that was established in 1948. Articles are published in English and abstracts are available in Arabic, Chinese, Englis ...

''; Volume 88, Number 10 * 2011: "Tuberculosis: Still a Social Disease" (with M. Raviglione). '' International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease''; Volume 15, Supplement 2 * 2011: "Action on Social Determinants of Health Is Essential to Tackle Non-Communicable Diseases" (with K. Rasanathan). ''Bulletin of the World Health Organization''; Volume 89, Number 10 * 2011: "Social Determinants of Health: Practical Solutions to Deal with a Well-Recognized Issue". ''Bulletin of the World Health Organization''; Volume 89, Number 10 * 2011: "Healthy Public Policies: Looking Ahead". ''Health Promotion International''; Volume 26, Supplement 2, pages 268–272 * 2013: "Health Workforce Brain Drain: From Denouncing the Challenge to Solving the Problem" (with G. Cometto, K. Tulenko and A. S. Muula). '' PLOS Medicine''; Volume 10, Issue 9 * 2013: "Human resources for universal health coverage: from evidence to policy and action" (with M. Sales, M. P. Kieny and C. F. Etienne). ''Bulletin of the World Health Organization''; Volume 91, Number 11 * 2014: "Globale Gesundheitssteuerung und globale Steuerung für mehr Gesundheit". ''Gesundheits- und Sozialpolitik''; Volume 68, pages 10–13 * 2014: "The 2014 Ebola Outbreak: Ethical Use of Unregistered Interventions" (with M. P. Kieny). ''Bulletin of the World Health Organization''; Volume 92, Number 9

References

External links

Rüdiger Krech
profile at the

's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Krech, Rudiger 1964 births Living people German public health doctors World Health Organization officials German officials of the United Nations Bielefeld University alumni