Elke Jakubowski, MD, M.Sc.

Elke Jakubowski is a Medical Doctor and M.Sc. in Health Policy by training. Elke started her career in clinical medicine. Following research fellowships at the European Parliament and the Hannover Medical School, she worked with the World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, for around 20 years. During these years, she advised more than 30 governments in the WHO European Region in various matters relating to health system reforms and strengthening health services for improved health outcomes. During this time she was a research associate at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. On behalf of WHO, Elke has contributed to large scale reform projects devoted to improving health services coverage including in Greece, Moldova, Portugal, Turkey, and the Ukraine. She was also responsible for the implementation of the WHO European Action plan on strengthening public health services and capacity and for establishing a program on health system governance. After leaving WHO, Elke was responsible for the prevention and control of infectious diseases in the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg in Germany, as part of the health ministry since 2019. During this time, Elke coordinated the medical issues related to the Corona pandemic in Hamburg. Additionally in 2022, she helped to establish and coordinate structures and processes to strengthen migrant health services in Hamburg. Elke is currently reengineering “Health Policy Europe”, an international health system and services consultancy.

Elke has authored numerous articles and has lectured in different universities. Elke draws on a wide range of working experience related to strengthening health systems, including at international, national and subnational levels and covering research, policy, politics, and practice.