The global public health community is mourning the loss of Dr. David Nabarro, a towering figure in international development, humanitarian crisis response, and disease outbreak management, who passed away peacefully at his home on Friday, July 25, at the age of 75. His death was confirmed in a joint statement released by the Swiss-based 4SD Foundation, which he co-founded, and echoed by leaders across the international stage.
Throughout a career spanning decades, Dr. Nabarro stood at the absolute forefront of multilateral health initiatives. Within the World Health Organization (WHO) and across the broader United Nations system, he was widely regarded as a tireless champion of global health, health equity, and the world’s most disadvantaged populations. To colleagues, mentees, and leaders worldwide, he was known not only for his strategic brilliance and vast expertise across multiple sectors—including nutrition, climate change, and epidemic response—but also for his profound compassion, patience, and unwavering commitment to mentoring the next generation of changemakers.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, led the global tributes with a deeply personal and emotional statement expressing the organization’s collective grief. Dr. Tedros noted that he was deeply shocked and saddened by the passing of a dear friend, colleague, and WHO Envoy. He emphasized that Dr. Nabarro was a great champion of global health equity and a wise, generous mentor to countless individuals whose work touched and impacted innumerable lives across the world. On behalf of the WHO, Dr. Tedros extended heartfelt condolences to Dr. Nabarro’s family, friends, and colleagues, bidding farewell to a dear friend whose expertise, wisdom, and kindness will be dearly missed.
Dr. Nabarro’s career was defined by his extraordinary versatility and readiness to deploy his energy wherever the need was greatest. He wore many hats across diverse fields, seamlessly bridging the gaps between public health, sustainable development, agricultural nutrition, and climate action. His footprint within the global architecture of health and humanitarian response is marked by a long sequence of senior leadership roles that addressed some of the most critical challenges of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Between 1999 and 2005, Dr. Nabarro held pivotal senior leadership positions at the WHO. He initially served as the Executive Director responsible for the Roll Back Malaria Project and the Office of the Director-General, driving efforts to roll back a disease that has historically devastated vulnerable communities across the globe. He was subsequently appointed as the Director-General’s Special Representative for Health Action in Crises, where he coordinated health responses in complex humanitarian emergencies.
In 2005, Dr. Nabarro transitioned to the wider United Nations system, embarking on a decade-and-a-half of high-level assignments that placed him at the center of global crisis management and sustainable development strategy. From 2005 to 2014, he served as the UN System Senior Coordinator for Avian and Pandemic Influenza, guiding international preparedness during a period of heightened global health anxiety. Concurrently, from 2008 to 2014, he took on the role of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Food Security and Nutrition.
Demonstrating his capacity for organizational leadership and mobilization, Dr. Nabarro served from 2011 to 2014 as the Coordinator of the Movement for Scaling Up Nutrition with the rank of Assistant Secretary-General. When the West Africa Ebola outbreak escalated into an international public health emergency in 2014, the UN Secretary-General appointed him as the Special Envoy for the West Africa Ebola Outbreak Response, a position he held through 2015 to coordinate the international community’s containment and recovery efforts. Continuing his ascent within the UN hierarchy, he served from 2016 to 2017 as the Special Adviser for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change with the rank of Under-Secretary-General.
In addition to these wide-ranging UN portfolios, the WHO Director-General appointed Dr. Nabarro in 2015 to chair an expert group tasked with reforming how the WHO managed outbreaks and emergencies, helping to shape the organization’s operational readiness for future health threats. His profound contributions to nutrition were formally recognized in October 2018 when he received the prestigious World Food Prize for his visionary leadership in the field.
Academia and institutional capacity-building also benefited immensely from his intellect and experience. From mid-2019 through 2025, Dr. Nabarro served as Co-Director and Chair of Global Health at the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London. Furthermore, driven by a passion for cultivating effective leadership, he co-founded the 4SD Foundation (Skills Systems and Synergies for Sustainable Development) alongside Florence Lasbennes in 2018. Based in Switzerland, the foundation has dedicated itself to training and mentoring leaders committed to driving sustainable development from within organizations and systems.
Dr. Nabarro’s influence extended deeply into global environmental and food systems diplomacy. Between 2018 and 2025, he curated the Food Systems Dialogues as a vital contribution to the transformation of global agricultural and food practices. He played a crucial role in preparations for the United Nations Climate Action Summit held in September 2019, co-facilitating the coalition that advanced the Nature-Based Solutions workstream, which was co-led by the governments of China and New Zealand. Additionally, he co-chaired the forum on Climate Change and Health, which concluded its extensive work at the World Innovation Summit for Health in November 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed the world in early 2020, Dr. Nabarro was once again called upon to provide steady, strategic guidance. In March 2020, the WHO Director-General appointed him as Special Envoy on COVID-19, a critical role he maintained right up until his passing. Under his strategic leadership, the 4SD Foundation led the Summit Dialogues that directly contributed to the landmark 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. Out of these efforts emerged a resilient network of National Convenors for Food Systems transformation, which remains active and impactful to this day.
When the war in Ukraine broke out, triggering international supply chain shocks and market volatility, Dr. Nabarro promptly lent his expertise to the UN Secretary-General’s Food, Energy, and Finance Crisis Response Group, co-leading its Food Workstream. In recognition of his lifetime of extraordinary contributions to global health and international cooperation, King Charles III knighted Dr. Nabarro in 2023.
The 4SD Foundation released a poignant statement titled "A Difficult Announcement," confirming that Dr. Nabarro passed away at his home on Friday, July 25. The statement reflected on his profound impact, noting that his generosity and unwavering commitment to improving the lives of others will be deeply missed. He is survived by his beloved wife, Flo, his children—Tom, Ollie, Polly, Josie, and Lucas—and seven grandchildren. The foundation noted that the family has found comfort in the overwhelming support and compassion extended to them during this challenging period.
On July 30, the family issued a follow-up statement expressing their deep gratitude for the global outpouring of tributes and the extraordinary kindness shown to all those mourning his loss. The family noted that across the fields of international development, public health, food systems transformation, nutrition, and crisis response, they are profoundly proud to witness how Dr. Nabarro’s legacy will endure through the countless compassionate leaders he inspired who continue to work toward shifting systems from within.
Funeral arrangements will include a small, private service held with close family on Monday, August 4. In the weeks ahead, a series of memorial services will be scheduled to provide an opportunity for colleagues, friends, and individuals whose lives Dr. Nabarro touched to gather and pay their respects. Online memorial pages have been established to allow well-wishers to leave messages, memories, and mementos, alongside official channels providing updates on further commemorative arrangements.
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