Director of the Migration Health Division, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Dr Poonam Dhavan is the Director of the Migration Health Division within the Department of Mobility, Pathways and Inclusion at the International Organization for Migration. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and oversees all migration health programmes.She is responsible for IOM’s migration health policies and represents IOM internationally, working closely with Member States, UN agencies and other stakeholders. She previously served as the Senior Migration Health Policy Advisor (2018-23), responsible for the management of migration health programmes, advice and guidance on migration health policies development and implementation, both internally across the various thematic areas of migration management in humanitarian and development contexts.She was previously posted with IOM in Geneva, Switzerland (migration health programme coordinator, 2015-18) and Manila, Philippines (epidemiology and research specialist, 2010-15).
Before IOM, she worked at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston (2007-10), the Public Health Foundation of India, Delhi (2006-07) and with the World Health Organization in Geneva (2002-06). With over two decades of international health experience, she is trained as a medical doctor from India with specialization in health administration and public health.
