Giovanna Failla

Giovanna Failla is an Italian-born and trained medical doctor and professor of hygiene and preventive medicine, epidemiology and statistics in universities around Rome, sharing her passion for youth leadership and scientific research in the advancement of global health advocacy. Giovanna's background in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and infectious diseases includes a mix of career, research and educational experiences. She was involved in early COVID-19 pandemic surveillance and outbreak control at the Italian National Health Institute. She has authored the white paper “Antimicrobial Resistance in Italy: An Urgent Challenge” for the Italian Antimicrobial Observatory. She deepened her understanding of environmental and animal drivers of AMR through training at Columbia University and Universität Würzburg. Additionally, she gained insight into how European policy translates into concrete public health interventions during her internship at the European Commission.

Committed to amplifying youth-voices, Giovanna's past work at the WHO include representing The European Network of Medical Residents in Public Health (EuroNet MRPH) in the WHO Youth Council and in the WHO Regional Director for Europe's special initiative Youth4Health. Additionally, she served on the Young Ambassadors Society Delegation at the 2025 World Food Forum (WFF), expanding on her prior work from WFF 2023. Lastly, she attended European Youth Event 2023 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Her mission is clear: to empower every young person to become a change-maker in public health, from education to policy, fighting AMR together.