Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe is the WHO Representative and Head of the WHO Country Office to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore based in Kuala Lumpur since 2022.With over three decades of experience, he is known for his expertise in public health, building partnerships with governments, UN agencies and development partners to improve public health outcomes, Dr. Rabi Abeyasinghe has contributed to national, regional and global strategies for disease control and has represented WHO in high-level negotiations and intergovernmental forums.

Most recently Dr. Rabi was a Member of the Action for Results Group convened by DG WHO to support country focused transformation of WHO from 2023 to 2025.He has earlier served as the WHO Representative to the Philippines and has held leadership roles as Director a.i. health security and emergencies in WPRO, including spearheading the regional response to COVID-19 and Director a.i. Communicable Disease Control WPRO. He was Coordinator and Team Lead Malaria, other vector borne diseases and Neglected Tropical Diseases Control in WPRO. Dr. Rabi’s work has spanned both strategic policy development and frontline coordination during health emergencies, contributing to WHO’s mission of improving health outcomes in several countries. Dr. Rabi Abeyasinghe is a Board-Certified Medical Specialist MD (Community Medicine) from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Additionally, he has a M.Sc. in Biology and Control of Disease Vectors from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene from the Royal College of Physicians, London. He is a Fellow of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka and a past President of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka. He was a Senior Fellow of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and Advisory Board Chair of the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network.

Healthy Ageing with Dignity: Policies for Right, Inclusion and Social Protection

Abstract