Dr Suraya Dalil brings a unique blend of health policy and diplomacy to her work, grounded in a lifelong commitment to human rights, social justice, and accountability. 

Over more than 30 years, her career has spanned frontline primary care, health system leadership, public policy, parliamentary engagement, and multilateral diplomacy. 

Dr Dalil holds a medical degree from Kabul Medical University (1991) and a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2005). As Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health from 2010 to 2014, she led political and operational reforms that significantly expanded access to health services and improved the quality of care nationwide. From 2015 to 2019, she served as Afghanistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and Ambassador to Switzerland, where she was lead author of Afghanistan’s voluntary pledges for UN Human Rights Council membership and headed the country’s delegation to the 2019 Universal Periodic Review.

From 2020 to 2025, she served as Director of the WHO Special Programme for Primary Health Care at WHO Headquarters, where she helped position primary health care as a core programmatic priority, led the documentation of country implementation experiences, oversaw the design of a primary health care leadership course for senior government executives, and supported the establishment of the Global Coalition on Primary Health Care secretariat. Her earlier work with UNICEF in Afghanistan and Somalia shaped her enduring commitment to equity, service, and measurable impact.

Dr Dalil is a proud mother of three daughters, whose curiosity and strength continue to inspire her resolve and resilience.