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Adjunct Faculty Fellow, University of Toronto

Faculty Fellow

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Dr Mehta has over 40 years of Public Health experience, about half of which were with the WHO. He has worked in several countries and regions of the world. Dr Mehta completed his medical education in India after which he served in the Indian Navy Defense Services. He then served in the Ministry of Health, Sultanate of Oman in various capacities for 10 years, the last being Director of Surveillance and Disease Control.

Dr Mehta then joined the World Health Organization and worked in Somalia from 1998 – 2002, where he was responsible for supporting the control of TB and all other communicable diseases in a complex emergency. He moved from Somalia to Indonesia in 2002 in the capacity of Country Advisor Tuberculosis Control program (Mega High burden country) for seven years.

Dr Mehta subsequently moved to Sri Lanka in 2009 as the WHO country Representative until 2014. His experience in emergency and humanitarian action, communicable disease control, health system issues, mental health, Gender based violence and a keen focus on addressing non communicable diseases in Sri Lanka have been well recognized and acknowledged. He was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the Sri Lanka Medical Association on his departure in 2014. This was the only time a non-national was given this honor in the history of the SLMA, one of the oldest medical associations in the region.

Post-WHO

• Adjunct professor positions at �첥��Ƶ and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Supported the start-up of a Mentoring program for Global health students in the Faculty of Health at �첥��Ƶ.
• In recognition of my contributions to the School of Global Health at York a Global Health service prize has been established in my name in 2022 (/health/globalhealth/scholarships-awards).
• Member on the Governance and Advisory committee on Human Trafficking at the Peel Institute on Violence prevention, Family services Peel Toronto ().
• MultiPOD mentoring initiative is an international Mentoring program for Global health students and Young Professionals. Contributing as a senior Mentor () and member on their Board of Director’s panel.
• Member International Advisory council of World NCD Federation. Member of Editorial board of the International Journal of NCD’s.
• Advisor on “The Young Innovation Leaders Fellowship” Nigeria, which is a platform created by Hutzpah Centre for Innovation and Development a social enterprise aimed at promoting innovation across sectors in Africa ().
• Member on the Lived Experience Advisory committee on research at the Centers for Addictions and Mental health (CAMH) Toronto ( ).
• Member on the Steering Committee on Research for Mental Health Equity in the Asia Pacific – Digital (REMAP-D) based at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Canada – ( resources).
• Appointed as an Adjunct Faculty Fellow of the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research (DI) at �첥��Ƶ in 2023. Since its beginning in 2017, the DI has become a vibrant community of researchers, scholars, and practitioners ()
• Presented a keynote talk at the weekly graduate seminar series at the DI titled “Building a career with the WHO – my journey ().
• Featured on a Podcast hosted by PH Spot Canada titled “Patience, Perspiration and Passion with Dr Mehta” in 2023 ()
• Inducted onto the Stop TB Canada Steering Committee in end 2023. Stop TB Canada brings together individuals committed to ending TB at home and abroad, including TB researchers, TB advocates, TB practitioners, and TB survivors. The Steering Committee guides the strategic development and implementation of the network by providing perspective, guidance, and expert strategic advice on Stop TB Canada operations. The Steering Committee also works to enhance the profile of Stop TB Canada initiatives, as well as the impact of activities by leveraging its network and expertise ().

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