Dr Razia Pendse took over as the WHO Representative to Sri Lanka in May 2017. She began her career with WHO in 2004, where she held the position of Medical Officer – Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health for the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office. Since then, she has held various positions in the organization, including at the WHO headquarters in Geneva. Her most recent position was as the Regional Advisor – HIV/STI and Hepatitis, WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, where she was responsible for providing technical advice to member states on planning, programming and monitoring for HIV, STI and Hepatitis national programmes. Dr Pendse has extensive experience working in public health. She previously served as Assistant Project Officer – Safe Motherhood and Newborn Care, UNICEF India and played an instrumental role in guiding the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Reproductive and Child Health Programme.  An Indian National, Dr Pendse received her Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the University of Rajasthan, India and Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the University of London, UK.