Dr Ghulam Rabani Popal is the WHO Representative in Yemen. Before his assignment in Yemen, Dr Popal served as Regional Advisor for External Relations at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in Cairo, Egypt.

From 1999 to 2003 Dr Popal served as WHO Representative in Iraq. He also served as Technical Officer for Emergency Relief Operations at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean from 1995 to 1999. 

Prior to joining WHO, Dr Ghulam held a number of posts in Afghanistan, including Director-General of International Relations at the Ministry of Public Health, and Medical Director and Executive Board Member of Afghan Health and Development Services, a nongovernmental organization.