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As Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines and Health Products, Dr Nakatani oversees the development and implementation of WHO’s norms and policies to ensure equitable access to quality medicines, vaccines and diagnostics for all populations everywhere, including for preventing and responding to epidemics.

Immediately prior to taking up this position, Dr Nakatani served as Director of the Cancer and Disease Control Division of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and as the Technical Advisor to the Minister of State for the COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force in Japan. Her first position at the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare dates back to 2001. In the following 20 years she held positions in a number of areas, including medical economics, research and development, health technology assessment and blood products. In addition, Dr Nakatani worked at the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States of America on the medical response to H1N1 influenza, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She also worked as a Medical Officer in the Medical Devices Team at WHO headquarters from 2012-2014.

Dr Nakatani holds a medical degree from Asahikawa Medical College, and a PhD in public health from the Graduate School of Medicine, both in Japan.