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The Deputy Public Service Commissioner has today
announced the appointment of Dr Diana Sarfati as
Director-General of Health and Chief Executive, Ministry of
Health.
The Ministry of Health is the
Government’s chief advisor and steward of New Zealand’s
public health system. As part of reforming the health
system, the Ministry’s role is being refocussed on
strategy, policy, regulation and monitoring the outcomes
achieved by the system as a whole. to ensure the health
system delivers for all New Zealanders, with a focus on
achieving more equitable outcomes for Māori.
The
Director-General of Health is a pivotal role leading a
sector critical to the overall wellbeing of New
Zealanders.
“Dr Sarfati has a deep understanding of
the challenges and opportunities facing the public health
system in New Zealand and I am very pleased to announce her
appointment to the role,” said Ms Quilter.
“She is
a respected and skilled senior leader with a public sector,
clinical and academic background. She is very knowledgeable
about the health reforms and is dedicated to improving
equity of outcomes in the health system.”
Dr Sarfati
is currently the Acting Director-General of Health and Chief
Executive, Ministry for Health, a role she has held since
July 2022. As the Acting Director-General, Dr Sarfati has
focused on implementing and embedding the health system
reforms.
In her substantive role as Chief Executive,
Te Aho o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency, Dr Sarfati made
good progress towards the goals and outcomes of the New
Zealand Cancer Action Plan 2019-2029.
Ms Quilter said
Dr Sarfati brings the skills and experience required to lead
the Ministry of Health, and to contribute to the strategic
leadership of the wider health system.
Dr Sarfati
holds Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Public Health and
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees from
the University of Otago. She is a Fellow of the New Zealand
College of Public Health Medicine and is registered with the
New Zealand Medical Council.
She has been appointed
for five years from 1 December.
Biography
Dr
Sarfati has been Acting Director-General of Health since
July this year.
She has been Chief Executive of Te Aho
o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency since May 2020. From
September to November 2019, she was the National Director of
Cancer Control at the
Ministry of
Health.
Between 2015 and 2019 Dr Sarfati was co-head
and then head of the University of Otago’s Department of
Public Health. She was Director of the Cancer and Chronic
Disease Research Group at University of Otago. She has
worked at University of Otago Department of Public Health
since 2004 and was Associate Professor and Professor there
from 2013. Her work has been focused on health systems,
addressing inequity in health and cancer.
For three
years, 2006-2009, she was Regional Director of Training at
the Australasian College of Public Health Medicine.
Dr
Sarfati has a PhD from the University of Otago, is a NZ
College of Public Health Medicine Fellow and until 2008 was
a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health
Medicine. She completed her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor
of Surgery (MBChB) at the University of Otago in
1991.
Dr Sarfati has held a number of national and
international roles. She is currently a commissioner for the
Lancet Commission on Health Systems and Cancer, a member of
the International Advisory Committee to Lancet Oncology, a
member of the Board of the International Cancer Benchmarking
Programme (ICBP), and a member of the Advisory Committee to
the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC)
Pacific cancer
hub.
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