Dorrit W. Nitzan

Prof. Dorit Nitzan is a professor at Ben Gurion University (BGU). She joined the university in 2022. And directs the Masters Program in Emergency Medicine - Preparedness and Response at the School of Public Health. In addition, she is the director of the new BGU “Food Systems, One Health and Resilience”, the BGU-FOR, Center. Dorit came from the World Health Organization (WHO) where she served since 2005. From 2016 she was based in the WHO Regional Office, lately as the Regional Emergency Director (head of division). From 2012 to 2016 She was the WHO Representative and Head of Country Office in Ukraine, and from 2005 to 2012 she served as the WHO Representative and Head of Offices in Serbia (including Kosovo and Montenegro) and the Public Health Manager for the South-east European Health Network. She returned to Israel in August 2022 after she was recalled to lead the Incident Management Team and the WHO humanitarian response in Ukraine. Following two years of military service, she trained as a dietitian and returned to the Israeli Defense Force for two more years. She then pursued her medical studies in the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine. She completed specialization in Pediatrics and Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition and completed an MPH degree, all Columbia University and Children's Hospital in New York. From 1996 to 2005, she headed the Nutrition and later the Food Services Departments in the Israeli Ministry of Health. At Ben Gurion university, Dorit teaches, carries out research, mentors and leads the Department and the Center. She also participates in national and international committees in the fields of emergencies, health security, One Health, nutrition and food security, epidemics, zoonotic diseases and the environment, earthquakes, public health capacities, social justice, innovations, emergencies preparedness and response and resilience. She has received prestigious awards from WHO, the United Nations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the hospitals where she served. She volunteers in humanitarian organizations. -- I have a vast experience in assessing and addressing zoonotic diseases, outbreaks and emergencies using the One Health Approach. In my previous positions as the WHO Representative to Serbia and Ukraine as well as the Regional Emergency Director for the WHO European Region and in my current post I have been leading the establishment of out-of-the-box early warning systems, remote, augmented and virtual sensoring, people and animal centered health, medicine, food and nutrition monitoring systems, environmental risk exposure, assessment and management and AMR directed actions. Lifting and leading multidisciplinary teams using the One Health Approach and aiming at strengthening Universal Health Coverage, prevention of, preparedness and response to, and recovery from health emergencies are my forte.