Yosuke Kita

Dr. Yosuke Kita has over a decade of experience in public and global health. As of August 2024, he serves as Director of the Global Health Strategy Division at the International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan.

Before joining MOFA, Dr. Kita worked extensively within Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), contributing to HIV/AIDS initiatives, revisions of the Immunization Act, and reforms to the long-term care insurance system. From 2009 to 2011, he was seconded to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, where he managed malaria control strategies. He also gained local governance experience through a secondment to a Japanese local government.

In 2019, Dr. Kita became Director of the Office for Global Strategy of Medical Service and Health Industry at MHLW, playing a key role in handling the 2020 “Diamond Princess” cruise ship response for Covid-19. Subsequently, he served as Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, facilitating critical UN General Assembly High-Level Meetings on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR) in 2023. He also acted as Vice-Chair of the 57th session of the UN Commission on Population and Development.

Dr. Kita holds a medical degree and two master’s degrees—one in public health from Yale University and another in public administration from Harvard University.