Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday appointed Professor Ilias Mosialos to be the representative of the Greek government at the international organisations on issues relating to the coronavirus.

Elias Mossialos is Brian Abel-Smith Professor of Health Policy, Head of Department of Health Policy and Director of LSE Health. Professor Mossialos founded LSE Health in 1996. It is currently LSE's largest research centre with 60 staff working on a wide range of research, combining technical competence with policy-mindedness. The Centre fosters the training of young researchers and funds several doctoral and post-doctoral students.

He has advised the WHO, European Parliament, European Commission (EC), World Bank, UK Office of Fair Trading, Ministries of Health and Social Affairs in Belgium, Brazil, China, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain and Sweden, and health insurance funds in Austria, Croatia, France, Hungary and South Korea. He was a member of the management board of the European Medicines Agency (2000-2003) and the board of the Hellenic National Medicines Agency (2000-2002) and contributed to the International Forum on 'Common access to health care services' co-ordinated by the health ministers of Sweden, the UK and New Zealand.

He has served as Minister of State in Greece in 2011. From 2009-2012 he was an MP in the Greek Parliament, served as a member of four Parliamentary Select Committees (Social Affairs, Educational Affairs, Defence and Foreign Affairs, and European Affairs), and chaired the Parliament's Special Permanent Committee on Monitoring the Social Security System (2010-11).

Current research

Professor Mossialos’ research focus is comparative health systems and policy, addressing questions related to health reforms, financing health care, pharmaceutical policies, the impact of EU law on health care systems, cancer care and policy and antibiotics. He is currently analysing incentives to address the need for sufficient investment in the development of antibiotics in order to meet changing medical needs.

“I think if we are going to take appropriate actions we must do it immediately before there is a high spread of the new virus. If there are incidents in schools and universities, the measures that follow will be less effective. Teaching in schools can be complemented by e-learning and the use of public television in the early morning hours”, Elias Mosialos said in a post commenting on news of drastic measures in Italy, with schools and universities closed.

It's opening night for the center-left undertaking known as the “movement of the 58” through an event scheduled for Monday at 19.00 pm.