Dr. François L. Gasse is a French physician and international expert whose career of over four decades has been defined by large-scale programme leadership, global policy design, and multilateral institutional management across more than 90 countries. He has dedicated his professional life to translating strategic frameworks into measurable outcomes — a discipline he honed across seventeen years at the World Health Organization and a further decade at UNICEF, where he held senior coordination and policy roles of global reach.
As Global Coordinator of the WHO/UNICEF Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative, Dr. Gasse designed and steered the implementation of a worldwide strategy that enabled 83 of 90 target countries to achieve elimination status, reducing annual mortality from 800,000 cases in 1988 to fewer than 7,000 in 2025 — one of the most consequential examples of multilateral programme coordination in recent decades. He also co-authored the GIVS (Global Immunisation Vision and Strategy), the landmark joint framework defining global immunisation priorities for WHO and UNICEF member states.
A graduate of the University of Aix-Marseille and holder of a Master's degree in International Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Gasse began his international career in Zambia under the French Development Cooperation. Since 2010, he has worked as an independent international consultant based in Ibiza, Spain, continuing to provide strategic and technical advisory support at the international level.
