Prof Benedetta Allegranzi

Benedetta Allegranzi is an infectious diseases specialist, with diplomas in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (University of Liverpool, UK) and Clinical Research (University of Geneva, Switzerland). From 1994 to 2006, she worked as infectious diseases and infection prevention and control (IPC) specialist and assistant professor at the University of Verona, Italy, as well as in Burundi, Malaysia and some other countries.  

She now works at the World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters since 2006. She is the head of the WHO IPC Unit, in the Integrated Health Services Department, (Universal Health Coverage/Life Course Division) and the technical lead for the IPC Hub, Taskforce and the Global IPC Network.  

She also has the title of adjoint professor, at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, Switzerland, associated with the Infection Control Programme, at the University Hospitals of Geneva, and with the Global Health Institute. 

With her team, she has provided technical support to many countries in all WHO regions and has led research in the field of health care-associated infections, antimicrobial resistance, and IPC implementation and monitoring; she has been responsible for the development of many new global IPC guidelines and implementation strategies and tools, and two global campaigns on injection safety and hand hygiene (in 182 countries). She led the development of the WHO global strategy, global action plan and monitoring framework for IPC, adopted by Member States at the World Health Assemblies in 2023 and 2024. 

She is leading or senior author of more 100 WHO official publications, and author or co-author of over 200 scientific publications, and author or editor of more than 20 scientific books or book chapters.