Insights from an UN WHO Leader on Fostering Resilient & Responsive Teams. Dr. Rui Vaz, A Former WHO Leader.

Dr Rui Gama Vaz is a retiree from the World Health Organisation ()WHO, who worked for 22 years for the Organization in different capacities. A medical doctor from Mozambique with a MPH from the University of Washington, USA.

Prior to his retirement from WHO he was the Coordinator of Country Cooperation Unit at the  Headquarters in Geneva.

He was also the Head of WHO Country Office in Nigeria; Programme Area Coordinator for Polio in the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO); the WHO Representative in Angola; Regional Adviser for HIV/AIDS in AFRO; WHO Liaison Officer in Seychelles; WHO/EPI/Polio Team Leader in Angola and UNAIDS Country Programme Adviser.

During his work with WHO, he supported national authorities in Nigeria in containing the Ebola epidemic in 2014 and the interruption of polio. He also supported the Government of Angola in interrupting twice the polio transmission and several other emergencies during the civil war.

Dr. Vaz' s take-home tips:
Ensuring a resilient team particularly working in countries facing internal conflicts and public health emergencies:
• Requires a strong leadership, with a motivated staff with clear definition of roles, responsibilities and strong accountability system which will help you to take fair and evidence-based decisions in terms of staff performance.
• Need a strong back-up from the respective senior management
• Leadership it’s not given. You must earn it! Leadership is defined by results and not attributes
• It´s critical to keep your staff motivated and engaged in your office policies, strategic and operational decisions with a good communication system in place. Always ensure their safety and protection as a priority matter, particularly when working in complex environments

In this episode, Dr. Vaz and I explore the questions and issues around the following:

• Based on your 40 years experience on public health, most particularly addressing public health emergencies, like HIV/AIDS, polio and Ebola, what were the main challenges that you faced and how did you address them?
• What are in your opinion, based on your experience in public health, the key shifts in addressing public health emergencies in countries?
• What do you specifically do to build resilient and responsive teams?
• How do you empower and motivate staff in very difficult and challenging environments?
• What are the most challenges in managing multisectoral teams in complex environments facing health emergencies and how to address them?
• How do you shift from self-doubt to self-confidence?
• What advice would you give to young leaders?

REFERENCES:
S1 E9: Leadership, Resilience & Transformation. Interview with Agnes Cserhati.
S2 E7: Building an Archive of Human Struggle & Triumph One Story at a Time. Interview with Jimmy Westerheim: Founder of The Human Aspect
S2 E19: How to Give Feedback: Learning to Communicate Directly & Diplomatically.

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