Dr Diana Sarfati

Public health and cancer specialist Dr Diana Sarfati has been appointed acting director-general of health and chief executive of the Ministry of Health (MoH), replacing departing director-general Dr Ashley Bloomfield from 30 July, until a permanent appointee takes up the position.

Currently chief executive of Te Aho o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency, Dr Sarfati was previously the national director of cancer control at MoH, overseeing the implementation of the agency, head of Otago University’s Department of Public Health and director of the Cancer and Chronic Disease Research Group at Otago. She has a PhD from Otago, is a NZ College of Public Health Medicine fellow and completed her Bachelor of Medicine and of Surgery at the University of Otago in 1991.

The Ministry of Health is the government's chief advisor on health matters. The director general of Health leads the ministry, setting the strategic direction for health, working alongside the chief executives of Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority.