The West African Health Organisation (WAHO), the specialised health institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has welcomed Professor Palokinam T. Pitche as its new Director General, effective September 1, 2026.

Professor Pitche, a university hospital physician and public health specialist from Togo, brings more than 25 years of experience in health services administration, programme management, health systems strengthening and the training of health professionals.

He also has extensive experience coordinating government institutions, development partners and community organisations, as well as mobilising resources and managing programmes supported by bilateral and multilateral partners.

Before his appointment to lead WAHO, Professor Pitche served as National Coordinator of Togo’s National AIDS Control Programme from 2007 to 2012. In 2012, he became National Coordinator of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Council for the Fight against AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (CNLS-IST), a multisectoral body under the Presidency of Togo.

His professional career also includes significant regional and international engagements. Since 1996, he has undertaken consultancy assignments for major health and development institutions, including the World Health Organisation (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 on developing health policies and strategic plans, resource mobilisation, and harmonising HIV treatment protocols and postgraduate training curricula across ECOWAS Member States.

Professor Pitche is also an accomplished academic and medical specialist. He has been a senior lecturer in Dermatology and Venereology under the African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education (CAMES) since July 2007 and obtained his Agrégation de Médecine in 2002.

He holds a State Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Lomé, alongside specialised qualifications in dermatology and venereology, epidemiology, HIV, parasitology and tropical medicine, immunology, vaccinology and biotechnology applied to infectious diseases.

His academic and professional training has included studies and programmes at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Paris-Sud University, Johns Hopkins University/CDC and the WHO in Geneva.

A lecturer at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Lomé since 1997, he has contributed extensively to the training of medical students and health professionals while supervising scientific research.

Professor Pitche also serves as a hospital physician at the Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital in Lomé, where he has headed the Dermatology and Venereology Department since 2015.

His contribution to medical research is equally substantial. He has authored and co-authored more than 250 scientific articles and four books, with his research focusing mainly on dermatology, sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and sexual health.

His assumption of office marks a new chapter in WAHO’s leadership as the organisation seeks to deepen regional health cooperation and strengthen health systems across West Africa.

Professor Pitche is expected to draw on his extensive experience in public health, infectious diseases, health policy, regional coordination and medical education to advance WAHO’s mandate of improving health outcomes for populations across the ECOWAS region.