Dr Socorro Escalante
©WHO / Yoshi Shimizu
In Mongolia, children, especially in herder families, learn to ride horses as young as three years old. They start helping their families herd livestock at the age of seven or eight.
In Mongolia, children, especially in herder families, learn to ride horses as young as three years old. They start helping their families herd livestock at the age of seven or eight.
©
Credits
WHO vision and mission
The founding vision of WHO is a world in which all people attain the highest possible standard of health and well-being. The WHO mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. WHO works with a commitment to human rights, universality
and equity, based on the principles espoused in the WHO Constitution.
Core functions of WHO include: providing leadership on matters crucial to health and engaging in partnerships where joint action is needed; shaping the research agenda
and stimulating the generation, translation and dissemination of valuable knowledge; setting norms and standards and promoting and monitoring their implementation; articulating ethical and evidence- based policy options; providing technical support
to catalyse changes; building sustainable institutional capacity; and monitoring the health situation and assessing health trends.
In order to provide effective support, the WHO country office leverages the three levels of the Organization:
to focus support where it can make a difference; to place the right people in the right places; to engage partners effectively; to enhance communications; and to improve operational intelligence.
Priorities of WHO
WHO’s general programme of work (GPW) sets medium-term priorities and strategies of the Organization. The World Health Assembly in May 2018 is expected to approve the 13th general programme of work, covering the period 2019–2023. It encompasses a set of three interconnected strategic priorities, strategic shifts and organizational shifts, as well as 10 outcomes to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The three strategic priorities are:
- Universal health coverage: 1 billion more people benefitting from universal health coverage
- Health emergencies: 1 billion more people better protected from health emergencies
- Healthier populations: 1 billion more people enjoying better health and well-being
Priorities of WHO in Mongolia
Through the country cooperation strategy, WHO will continue to provide sound and evidence-based technical and policy advice to the Government. At the same time, WHO will focus on supporting strengthened partnerships for health and enhancing the use of information technology for health in Mongolia.
WHO Representative to Mongolia
Dr Socorro Escalante, MD, MBA, assumed her duties of WHO Representative in Mongolia on 02 January 2023. Prior to this assignment, Dr Escalante served as a Team Coordinator of Universal Health Coverage at WHO Country Office in Vietnam. From 2017 to 2022, Dr Escalante worked as a Coordinator of Essential Medicines and Technologies at Office for the Western Pacific. Dr Escalante started her service in WHO in 2006 as a Programme Officer of Pharmaceuticals. Prior to working with WHO, Dr Escalante was a Provincial Board Member at the Provincial Government of La Union, Philippines, and then Medical Specialist at the Department of Health – Regional Office in La Union, Philippines.
Dr Escalante graduated from the Saint Louis University in Philippines as a Doctor of Medicine. She holds MBA in Health from the Ateneo de Manila University in Makati, Philippines.
Dr Socorro Escalante speaks English and Filipino and is a national of the Republic of the Philippines.
Dr Socorro Escalante succeeded Dr Sergey Diorditsa who served as WHO Representative in Mongolia from 2017-2022.