CONTRIBUTOR:

Laura Hawken

AFFILIATION:

TITLE:

Technical Officer

DEPARTMENT:

Health Services Delivery

INSTITUTION:

World Health Organization

BIOGRAPHY:

Laura Hawken, RGON, BA, MSc Economics General Information: Australian citizen, married to and Englishman, resident in the UK. Laura’s BA, from Massey University in New Zealand, is in Education and Nursing Studies. She studied for her Master’s degree at both London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and London School of Economics, following the complex set of topics in health policy, planning and financing, which she gained with distinction. Professional Objective: To assist countries with health system development in moving towards universal health coverage and higher quality health care for poor and vulnerable populations. Synopsis of skills and experience: Laura has broad experience in the health field over the past 35 years, in New Zealand, Cambodia, Albania, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and many other countries. Her career has extended from clinical work, to teaching, costing health services, project and services management, and health sector reform. While with WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Laura was involved in research on the availability and knowledge of health services managers in a number of African countries. She was also instrumental in developing of WHO’s Framework for Strengthening Leadership and Management; as well as WHO’s website and free electronic library for Health Services Managers. While with WHO in the Western Pacific Region in Manila, Laura worked on a wide range of policy and planning guidelines and trainings, including the Regional Strategy for Health Systems based on the values of Primary Health Care and the regional frameworks for reproductive health, newborn care and healthy aging. Though now retired, she continues to work for WHO in Manila, teaching in their Global Health Learning Program with Fellows from Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia Samoa, and Viet Nam.