Neelam Dhingra-Kumar

Neelam Dhingra-Kumar is a coordinator for patient safety and risk management at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. She leads WHO's efforts on providing strategic leadership on patient safety within the context of strengthening health systems for universal health coverage. Neelam coordinates WHO's work for improving patient safety and managing risks in health care, including the Global Patient Safety Challenge on Medication Safety; leadership, policies and legislation; safety culture; education and training; assessments, research and measurement; global networks; tools and checklists; reporting and learning; patient engagement; primary care; and safe childbirth and surgical safety checklists. She served as coordinator for Blood Transfusion Safety after joining WHO in 2000, for strengthening the delivery and safety of blood transfusion and laboratory services. Since 2015, Neelam has been coordinating WHO global efforts in patient safety, quality improvement, and risk management. A hematologist from India, she served as a medical faculty in a tertiary care teaching hospital in New Delhi for 14 years, also coordinating blood transfusion, hematology and laboratory services. She obtained her medical graduation and post-graduation qualifications from New Delhi and fellowships in the UK as a hematologist, laboratory and transfusion medicine expert.