Dr. Manuel M. Dayrit is an Adjunct Professor and former Dean of Ateneo de Manila University School of Medicine and Public Health.
Dr. Dayrit served as Secretary of Health (Minister) of the Philippines from 2001 to 2005 when the Department of Health (DOH) was recognized for its effective implementation of disease control programs (including for SARS, dengue, tuberculosis, and vaccine-derived polio); the implementation of the health sector reform agenda which included widening the use of generic medicines; and the broadening of access to social insurance (PhilHealth) by indigents. Under his leadership, the DOH was cited among the top-performing government agencies.
From 2005 to 2012, he was Director of the Department of Human Resources for Health at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. The WHO Code on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel was developed during this time and adopted by Member States at the World Health Assembly in May 2010. Prior to this appointment, he was a member of the Commission on Social Determinants of the World Health Organization.