Dr Hedia Belhadj, Director, Partnerships Department

Dr Hedia Belhadj, Director, Partnerships Department

Dr Hedia Belhadj joined UNAIDS in April 2010 as Director of the Partnerships Department. She brings more than 25 years of international experience in policy development, programme management and partnership building to the Joint Programme.

Before joining UNAIDS, Dr Belhadj most recently served as Executive Coordinator for Global Health with UNFPA with responsibility for developing vision and defining the scope of interventions in the area of global health as well as advising senior management and building global partnerships.

Earlier UNFPA roles in which Dr Belhadj served include Deputy Director, Technical Support Division, Deputy Director and officer-in-charge, Division for Arab States, Europe and Central Asia as well as UNFPA Country Director in Yemen.

Dr Belhadj combines her experience in public health with academic and clinical experience. She was awarded a post doctoral fellow in contraceptive research and development at the Center for Biomedical Research, Population Council, New York and practiced as a medical clinician in Tunisia, specializing in Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine at la Rabta University Hospital, Tunis.

In her role as Director of Partnerships Department, Dr Belhadj works across the organization shaping UNAIDS’ vision in partnership building with focus on expanding the partnership base as well as strengthening relationships with civil society and the private sector. Dr Belhadj also supports department staff in two Divisions and the UNAIDS liaison offices in Washington DC, Brussels and Addis Ababa. 

Dr Belhadj is an endocrinologist and trained at the School of Medicine, Tunis University and Université René Descartes, Paris. She holds a masters degree in public health from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr Belhadj is a national of Tunisia.