Dr Teodora Elvira C. Wi is an internationally recognized global health leader with over 30 years of experience advancing HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI), and hepatitis programmes across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She currently serves as a Consultant to the WHO Western Pacific Region, providing strategic and technical leadership to strengthen national and regional responses to HIV, STIs, and viral hepatitis.
Previously, Dr Wi was Lead for Sexually Transmitted Infections at the WHO Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes in Geneva, where she led the development and global rollout of WHO STI guidelines, coordinated the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in STIs, and supported countries in implementing the Global Health Sector Strategy on STIs.
She also served as Medical Officer and Acting Team Leader for HIV/AIDS and STIs at the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, directing regional strategies, surveillance, and capacity-building across multiple countries.
Before joining WHO, Dr Wi held senior leadership roles at Family Health International (FHI), including Country Director for FHI Philippines, Senior Technical Officer for Asia and the Pacific, and Director of the STI/HIV Capacity Building Grant under the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-supported Avahan India AIDS Initiative, where she led large-scale quality improvement and service delivery reforms for key populations.
Dr Wi has worked with around 30 national HIV and STI programmes worldwide, shaping policy, strengthening surveillance, and improving service delivery. She has authored or co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications and led the development of multiple WHO global guidelines and technical reports.
She holds a Doctor of Medicine and Bachelor of Science in Biology from Saint Louis University (Philippines), completed post-doctoral training in the Epidemiology of AIDS at UCLA, and advanced STI/HIV research training at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is a Fellow of the Philippine Society of Venereology (FPSVI).