Wessam El Beih

El Beih has been the Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) since August 2023. El Beih served as the Representative of the Swiss private not-for profit, Drosos Foundation branch in Egypt since September 2014 covering Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon portfolios since 2021. Prior to that, El Beih served with United Nations Organizations in several positions including as UNICEF Chief of Global Fund Management in Somalia and as NAIDS Country Director in Egypt. In those roles, she led groundbreaking initiatives and fostered strategic alliances to support underserved populations. Previously, she worked with Care International as Program Manager and head of Monitoring and Evaluation introducing interactive workplace learning and knowledge sharing across different countries in the MENA region. With Abt. Associates in the USA, she was a Senior Research Analyst contributing to health policy research related to domestic and international projects.

El Beih is a medical doctor with a master's degree in health systems management from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is certified in systems thinking from Cornell University, USA. She has 25 years of experience in leading teams, designing and managing development projects in HIV, Health, Gender, Education, Economic Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship.