Dr Assad Hafeez has been WHO Representative in the State of Kuwait since March 2021, and was appointed Acting WHO Representative in the Kingdom of Bahrain in February 2025. He will serve in both roles.

Previously Director-General of Health in the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, Pakistan, Dr Hafeez has held several senior policy and leadership positions in government.

He was a professor and Vice-Chancellor at the National Public Health University, Pakistan, and has held a professorship in the Global Health Department at the University of Manitoba, Canada.

Dr Hafeez was Chair and Vice-Chair of the Executive Board of WHO for a number of years, served on many WHO committees in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and has worked with UNICEF, UNFPA, ADB and USAID in various capacities.

Dr Hafeez trained in medicine and health policy in Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States. He holds a master's degree in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a PhD in public health from the University of Manchester.