Dr João Breda, MPH PhD MBA
Head of the WHO Athens Quality of Care and Patient Safety Office & SPECIAL ADVISER for the WHO Regional Director

Dr João Breda is the Head of the new Athens Quality of Care Office and Special Adviser of WHO Regional Director for the establishment of Sub-Regional Offices. Before moving to Greece João has been posted in WHO Senior Positions in Copenhagen (Denmark) for seven years and Moscow (Russian Federation) for four years. The newly established Athens Centre of Excellence aims to improve quality of care and patient safety at country level and focusing on reducing inequalities while promoting health innovation and leadership.
Until 2021 he Headed the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD Office), which is an integral part of the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Launched in 2014, the NCD Office marked an important milestone in the commitment made to combatting NCDs in the WHO European Region. Led by Dr Breda, the NCD Office provided support to 53 Member States in the WHO European Region based on population-level, targeted approaches to ensure a reduction in NCD risk, an overall decline in premature mortality. In 2019, the team he was leading was given an Award of Excellence announced by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, which acknowledges the exceptional contribution to the Organization, tangible gains, and achievements.
Dr João Breda is a PhD in Food Consumption & Nutritional Sciences by Porto University, a Master of Business Administration by the EU Business School in Barcelona, a Master’s in Public Health and initially graduated in Nutritional Sciences.