Dr. Jillann Farmer

Dr Jillann Farmer is the Director of the Division of Healthcare Management and Occupational Safety and Health (DHMOSH) of the United Nations, based at the headquarters in New York.  Prior to this, she was the Medical Director of the Patient Safety Centre in Queensland Health, and the inaugural Director of the Clinician Performance Support Service. 

Jillann worked for the Medical Board of Queensland, building the Health Assessment and Monitoring Program for management of registrants with illnesses that impact on their ability to practice.  She also lead a program of national reforms to the way Medicare Australia  interacted with Practitioners whose practice had been identified as significantly different to Peers.   She has been a Director of Medical Services at a mid-size acute Hospital, and a Senior Medical Officer Emergency Medicine.  She holds fellowships of both the RACGP and the College of Medical Administrators. 

In her current role, which she took up in October 2012,  Jillann has overarching responsibility for the UN’s internal healthcare system, which involves care for UN Personnel dispersed throughout the world, sometimes in difficult and dangerous locations.  This includes over 400 healthcare services, ranging from primary care clinics, military forward medical services, to Level 3 hospitals.  She is also the Chair of the UN interagency network of Medical Directors, the peak body for Occupational health in the UN system.

During 2014, she led the UN’s internal response to Ebola, allowing the safe deployment of UN personnel into the Ebola Outbreak area, and ensuring delivery of healthcare services to them throughout the crisis.  Her current areas of priority focus are peacekeeping health reform, Rollout of a UN Occupational Safety and Health Framework, and implementation of the recently endorsed UN system Mental Health Strategy.