Raj Panjabi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raj Panjabi
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| Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense, National Security Council | |
| In office February 2022 – August 2023 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Elizabeth Cameron |
| Succeeded by | Paul A. Friedrichs |
| U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator, United States Agency for International Development | |
| In office February 2021 – February 2022 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Kenneth Staley |
| Succeeded by | David Walton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rajesh Ramesh Panjabi
February 3, 1981 Monrovia, Liberia |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BS, MD) Johns Hopkins University (MPH) |
| Occupation | Physician, professor, entrepreneur, White House official. |
Raj Panjabi (born February 3, 1981) is an American physician, a business leader, a professor, and a former official in the White House. He is known for his work in global health, especially in making sure people in remote areas can get healthcare.
From 2021 to 2023, Dr. Panjabi worked for the Biden-Harris Administration. President Joe Biden chose him to be the White House Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense on the United States National Security Council. Before that, President Biden also appointed him as the leader of the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative.
Dr. Panjabi has received many honors for his work. He was named one of the TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2016. He also received the 2017 TED Prize, which is a big award for people with ideas that can change the world.
He is also the co-founder of an organization called Last Mile Health. He has taught at Harvard Medical School and advised important leaders, including former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Raj Panjabi's family has a history of moving to new places. His grandparents became refugees after India and Pakistan were divided in 1947. They moved to cities in India. A generation later, his parents moved to West Africa. Raj Panjabi was born and grew up in Monrovia, Liberia.
When he was nine years old, a civil war started in Liberia in 1989. Raj and his family had to leave their home. They fled on a rescue plane to Sierra Leone and then found safety in the United States. They first stayed with a family in High Point, North Carolina.
Raj Panjabi studied at the University of North Carolina School at Chapel Hill. He earned both his bachelor's degree and his medical degree there. He also got a master's degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He later trained as a doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Career in Public Health
Working for the U.S. Government
Helping with Global Health Security
As the White House Senior Director for global health security, Dr. Panjabi helped the U.S. respond to big health problems. He played a key role in the huge effort to vaccinate people against COVID-19. He also helped the White House deal with other health crises like Mpox, Influenza, Ebola, and Marburg.
He helped lead the U.S. plan for responding to and recovering from COVID-19 around the world. He also helped organize a big meeting in 2022 where world leaders discussed COVID-19. Dr. Panjabi also worked on plans to protect the U.S. from future health threats. This included making sure there were enough ways to find diseases, test for them, treat them, and create vaccines.
Leading the Fight Against Malaria
President Biden chose Dr. Panjabi to lead the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative. This was a special moment because he was the first Asian American and the first person born in Africa to hold this position. Malaria is a serious disease that is common in Africa.
In this role, Dr. Panjabi helped launch the world's first malaria vaccine. He also created a new plan to save millions more lives and prevent billions more malaria cases. His work helped protect 700 million people in 30 countries in Africa and Asia. This was done by providing tests, treatments, and improving health systems.
Last Mile Health
Dr. Panjabi is the co-founder and former CEO of Last Mile Health. He started this organization in 2007 with a small team of people who had survived the civil war in Liberia. Their goal was to train healthcare workers using technology. These workers could then help millions of people in remote areas. He started the organization with $6,000 he received as a wedding gift.
In 2017, Last Mile Health received the $1 million TED Prize. They used this money to create the Community Health Academy. This platform offers online courses for health leaders and workers. These courses help them improve healthcare in communities. Tens of thousands of people from nearly 200 countries have taken these courses.
Dr. Panjabi and Last Mile Health also played a big part in responding to the 2013-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. They trained many health workers and helped get supplies like protective equipment. They also helped the Liberian government organize its response to the disease. He explained to the U.S. Senate that investing in local health workers can help countries respond better to diseases like Ebola.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Last Mile Health supported health organizations in Africa. They helped train frontline health workers in countries like Liberia, Malawi, Uganda, and Ethiopia to respond to COVID-19.
As a Doctor
Dr. Panjabi has worked as a doctor in different community health centers. He has cared for patients in rural Alaska, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. He also worked at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he treated patients with COVID-19.
Sharing Knowledge
Dr. Panjabi has written many articles about health topics like malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19. He also led a study about how community health worker programs have been successful in countries like Brazil, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Liberia.
He helped write a report that showed how much good comes from investing in community health workers. The report found that for every dollar invested, there could be up to a ten-dollar return. This means it's a very smart investment for health.
Speaking Engagements
Dr. Panjabi has given many speeches and presentations. He has lectured at Harvard Medical School. In 2017, he gave a famous TED Talk called "No One Should Die Because They Live Too Far From a Doctor." This talk has been watched over a million times. He has also spoken about the importance of investing in community health workers.
He has given graduation speeches at universities like Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical School. He also spoke at an event celebrating Nelson Mandela's 100th birthday in South Africa.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Panjabi has received many awards for his leadership and work. Fortune magazine named him one of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders in 2015 and 2017. TIME magazine listed him as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2016. Former President Bill Clinton wrote a tribute about him.
He also received the 2017 TED Prize. Bill Gates recognized him in his "Heroes in the Field" series. He has also received awards for being a social entrepreneur, which means he uses business ideas to solve social problems.
In 2015, he accepted the Clinton Global Citizen Award for Last Mile Health's work during the Ebola outbreak. In 2017, the Government of Liberia gave him one of their highest honors, calling him a Knight Commander. In 2023, Johns Hopkins University gave him their highest award for public health leaders.
