WHO Representative in Guinea-Bissau Presents Letters of Credence to the Minister of Foreign Affairs | WHO

Bissau—Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo presented, this Friday, 7 August 2026, his Letters of Credence to Her Excellency Fatoumata Jau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Communities of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. With this protocolary act, Dr. Walter officially takes up the post of Chief of Mission and Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the country.

A completed transition

Dr. Walter had already been carrying out, in an acting capacity, the functions of WHO Representative in Guinea-Bissau, while also holding the position of Director of the Office of the Regional Director for Africa, a post to which he had been transferred in July 2025 amid the Organization’s restructuring and realignment process in the region. The presentation of the Letters of Credence therefore marks the formal conclusion of this transition and the full confirmation of his mandate at the head of the WHO office in the country.

Health as a driver of development

During the meeting with Minister Fatoumata Jau, Dr. Walter reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to Guinea-Bissau and stressed that health should not be understood in isolation, but as a genuine driver of national development. According to the Representative, health is deeply interconnected with other essential dimensions of society, such as education, the economy, and social well-being — areas that, together, underpin solid and lasting paths of progress.

International cooperation and sustainable development

The meeting also reinforced the importance of international cooperation as a path forward for this vision. For WHO, strengthening health systems in Guinea-Bissau is, at the same time, a direct contribution to the country’s sustainable development, in line with the international commitments undertaken under the 2030 Agenda.

Through this protocolary gesture, the World Health Organization reaffirms its willingness to continue working closely and collaboratively in Guinea-Bissau, supporting initiatives that place health at the center of the country’s development policies.