Dr. Hiroki Nakatani also has advisory and leadership capabilities in various national and international organizations, including as Minister of International Affairs, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund); Project Director, Hub on Population Ageing, Pacific Rim Universities Association; Member of the Board of Directors, Japan's National Center for Global Health and Medicine; and Director, Global Health Center for Human Resources Strategy. Dr Nakatani, a veteran public health expert with more than 40 years of experience, has worked extensively in the fields of health policy, public health, international health, and health science and technology. He began his career at national level at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and later served as Health and Welfare Services Director-General in Hiroshima Prefecture, where he was responsible for integrating health and welfare services for a rapidly aging society. He served twice at WHO headquarters internationally, from April 1988 to March 1993 as Policy Analyst in the Department of Human Resources for Health, and from March 2007 to May 2015 as Assistant Director-General, leading the largest WHO technical cluster comprising HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases. Morbidity and mortality due to these three main infections showed decreasing trends during his tenure, and several tropical diseases were on the path to elimination or eradication (dracunculiasis, or guinea-worm disease). Dr. Nakatani received an MD from the School of Medicine at Keio University, an MHPEd from the University of New South Wales, and a PhD from the University of Keio.