Ottorino Cosivi
Director, PANAFTOSA
Director of the Pan American Centre for Foot and Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health (PANAFTOSA/SPV) of PAHO in Rio de Janeiro. His work focuses on technical cooperation in areas that connect animal health and human health to promote One Health: (a) zoonotic diseases and bite poisoning; (b) food safety and antimicrobial resistance; and (c) foot and mouth disease. PANAFTOSA/SPV manages the WHO Reference Laboratory for foot and mouth disease and is a WHO Collaborating Centre in Veterinary Public Health. Dr. Cosivi began his international career in 1993 at WHO in Geneva, working on zoonotic diseases. In 2000, he took over WHO’s bioterrorism preparedness programme and, in 2008, he was interim director of the Mediterranean Centre for Risk Reduction in Tunisia, before joining PAHO in 2009. He graduated in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Parma, Italy, and holds a postgraduate degree in Tropical Veterinary Medicine from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Before his time at WHO, he worked with NGOs, in the pharmaceutical industry, and as a field veterinarian.