Our Leadership - Amref Health Africa
  • Charles_Okeahalam Mr Charles Okeahalam Chairman ×

    Charles Okeahalam was appointed Board Chairman of Amref Health Africa’s International Board of Directors, effective 1st January 2020. Mr. Okeahalam is the co-founder of AGH Capital and has served as CEO of the company from 2003 to 2018. AGH Capital, founded in 2001, is an investment company with holdings in industrial equipment, energy, and Real Estate Investments Trusts (REITs). Mr. Okeahalam has served as a non-executive director of several companies including ABSA, Sun International, South African Airways and the Bond Exchange and as chairman of Heritage Bank and chairman of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company. Prior to AGH Capital, he was a professor of finance at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) between 1998 to 2002. He has served on the Council of the University of Cape Town and as a Trustee of the African Union Foundation. Charles is involved in the support and sponsorship of education, particularly for female students from low-income households. His academic qualifications include a Ph.D. in Economics-(Econometrics), University of London awarded in 1991. He has researched and written extensively on finance in Africa and in 2010 earned a D.Sc. from the University of Exeter for this. He has received several awards, notably in 2001, a Houblon-Norman Senior Fellowship of the Bank of England. He is also an Honorary Professor at WITS.

  • Dr Githinji Gitahi Dr Githinji Gitahi Ex-Official member ×

    A passionate advocate for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Africa, Dr Githinji Gitahi joined Amref Health Africa as the Global Chief Executive Officer in June 2015. Amref Health Africa, headquartered in Kenya, is the largest Africa-based international health and development organisation providing training and health services to over 20 million people annually in at least 35 countries in Africa. Until his appointment to Amref Health Africa, Dr Gitahi was the Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, Smile Train International. Prior to that, Dr Gitahi was Managing Director for Monitor Publications in Uganda as well as General Manager for Marketing and Circulation in East Africa for the Nation Media Group. He held progressively senior positions at GlaxoSmithKline and worked at the Avenue Group. Dr Gitahi is the Co-Chair of the Strategic Advocacy Committee for PMNCH and a member of the African Union Commission on Africa’s COVID-19 Response. He also serves in various Boards, notably – Governing Board of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Board of Directors of the Standard Group in Kenya and Board of Trustees of Safaricom Foundation. In June 2023, Dr Gitahi was appointed by the UN Secretary General as a member of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Lead Group - a global initiative dedicated to eradicating all forms of malnutrition by 2030. Previously, he served on the Governing Board of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and co-chaired the UHC2030 Steering Committee, a World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) initiative for UHC. His engagement with UHC continues and earlier this year, he chaired a UN multi-stakeholder hearing in New York, NY, USA, ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on UHC in September, 2023. In December 2018, Dr. Gitahi was bestowed the 2018 ‘Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear’ (MBS) by the President of Kenya, in recognition of his outstanding contribution and commitment to the health sector. Dr Gitahi holds a bachelor’s degree in Medicine from the University of Nairobi, a master’s degree in Business Administration from the United States International University, as well as a Certificate for Strategic Perspectives for Non-profit Management from Harvard University.

  • Eunice Mathu Eunice Mathu Director ×

    Eunice Mathu was born in Kenya. She attended the University of Nairobi graduating in Journalism and Communication. Her first job was as a feature writer with Nation Media Group, the largest media house in the region. She later joined the multinational Unilever as the Communications Manager. Eunice left formal employment in 1981 to launch her start-up company in media consultancy and publishing, Stellan Consult Ltd, where she is the Managing Director. Apart from publishing the most successful magazine in the region, Parents, and hosting several online media platforms including www.parentsafrica.com and www.vibeyetu.com and Parentsafrica Yutube channel she has done media consultancy and coordination work with different UN agencies, development NGO’s and media organizations. She was the Editor/Coordinator of the African Women’s Feature Service of the Rome-based Intepress Service and the first cohort of the Women’s Edition, a global media network coordinated by the Population Reference Bureau in Washington DC. She was also in the first cohort of the Launch and Grow entrepreneurship programme by Babson College in the US. Eunice was instrumental in launching professional organizations in Kenya such as The Media Women of Kenya Association and the Public Relations Society of Kenya. She has also served as a member of the Nairobi University Council. She is involved in philanthropy work and is a founder trustee of the Starehe Girls Centre, a high school that offers free education to poor but bright children, where she is also the vice-chair of the board of trustees. She also chairs the boards of Africa Medical Research Foundations (AMREF) Kenya and the Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF). Eunice is the recipient of many honors and awards including the Transform Kenya Award; Life Time Achievement Award by the Media Council of Kenya; and the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) by the president of Kenya for her contribution to media growth and women’s development in the country. She is married and has three adult children.

  • Liam Fisher Jones Liam Fisher Jones Director ×

    Liam Fisher-Jones currently serves as Development Director for the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians, with the principal goal of doubling the output of physicians being trained in the region. Since 2007, he has been a director of More Partnership, Europe’s leading fundraising and strategic advisory firm for the third sector. Liam started his career at the London School of Economics, helping establish interdisciplinary research centres whilst pursuing on-the-job intensive training in fundraising, using methodologies adopted by the UK university sector throughout the 1990s. He then spent ten years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, leading on fundraising, partnerships and corporate engagement. He served as a Board member of AMREF UK for six years and has been a technical advisor to AMREF HQ for a similar period. Liam spent a year rebuilding a hospital in Zanzibar, with his physician wife; and has cycled 12,000 kms from Cairo to Cape Town, raising funds for AMREF’s work with mothers and babies. Liam currently lives with his family in Uganda.

  • Chiara Palmieri Chiara Palmieri Director ×

    Chiara Palmieri is the Founder and CEO of an Italian based Family Office, Tack SCF srl. Chiara sits on the Board of Italmobiliare, Design Holding, Guala Closures, Snaitech and Distillerie Branca. She also serves as Member of the board of Amref Health Africa Onlus-Italia. Chiara previously worked in London for Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, where she was Chief Operating Officer and member of the Executive Committee of the Private Wealth Management division, EMEA. She served as Managing Director of Laprima Holding, an Italian single Family Office, before founding Tack SCF. She is a Chartered Accountant in Italy, graduated summa cum laude at Bocconi University and holds a Master CEMs degree granted by HEC-Paris, after an exchange program at NYU-Stern School’s MBA.

  • Frank Ireri Frank Ireri Director ×

    Frank is an accomplished and resilient Senior Executive with a progressive international career spanning over 30 years delivering and instilling operational strategies and transformation initiatives to maximise business performance, streamline processes and increase customer excellence for leading global banking organisations. He has been recognised for a broad skill set encompassing operations management and strategy, management consulting, business development and growth, continuous improvement strategy, corporate governance and business strategy, combined with a consistent track record in delivering sustainable solutions. He is a resourceful people manager, able to consistently drive improvements to performance and efficiency using innovative solutions in line with stringent regulations, whilst leading, motivating, empowering and developing multi-disciplined, cross-cultural teams. He is the Chairman of Habitat for Humanity Kenya, a Non-Executive Director of Centum Real Estate Ltd., Flame Tree Group, AMREF Flying Doctors, Kentegra LLC and a Trustee of Runda Water Limited. In 2011, he was awarded Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS) by the President of the Republic of Kenya in recognition of his services to the nation in his various capacities. Frank holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Nairobi and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA K).

  • Paul Davey Paul Davey Director ×

    A graduate of Leeds University in the UK, Paul has worked for more than 35 years in general management, marketing and communications roles. He worked at Diageo for almost 20 years, including a period with global responsibility as Marketing Director for the company’s biggest brand and a four year assignment as General Manager based in Moscow, Russia. Since 2004 Paul has been a partner at MMS Ltd, a branding agency working for a wide range of clients on marketing strategy and campaigns. Recent focus has been on urban regeneration projects. He is also a Trustee of a UK pension scheme. PauI initially joined Amref Health Africa in the UK in 2007 as Trustee and Director and served three terms totalling nine years, during which he chaired the Governance Committee and sat on the Fundraising Committee. Paul re-joined the UK Board in 2019 as Chair. He has served on the Fundraising and Communications Committee of the International Board since 2018.

  • Dr Shakira Choonara Dr Shakira Choonara Director ×

    Dr Shakira Choonara is a multi-award-winning public health practitioner, the 2017 Woman of the Year in Health in South Africa and a bold activist. She is currently appointed to both UN Women and the World Health Organization. She is a start-up entrepreneur and founder of a development consultancy firm. At present, Dr Choonara is the incumbent Lancet Commissioner for Adolescent Health and Wellbeing and a NCD Child Young Leader. Dr Choonara previously served on the inaugural African Union Youth Council 2018-2020 and the AHAIC Commission. Other leadership roles include serving as a board member of Youth Health Africa and the newly founded Creativity South Africa as well as serving as a Guest Editor for Taylor and Francis and Frontiers. Tweet: @ChoonaraShakira

  • Dr Elizabeth Ekirapa Kiracho Dr Elizabeth Ekirapa Kiracho Director ×

    Dr. Elizabeth Ekirapa Kiracho is an accomplished public health expert with more than 15 years of distinguished performance. She is a Senior Lecturer and Health Economist, and the current Chair of the Health Policy Planning & Management (HPPM) department at the Makerere University School of Public Health in Uganda. She also leads the Makerere hub for the Africa Digital Innovations and research center. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery from Makerere University as well as a Master’s degree in public health from Makerere University School of Public Health, and a Master’s degree in public health with a focus on Health economics from the University of Cape town. In addition, Elizabeth has a Doctorate in Health systems research from Trinity College Dublin. She has more than 15 years of teaching, managing academic programs and research experience. She has been a Principal Investigator for several grants and has vast experience in managing, conducting, and analyzing health related research in a variety of fields including health systems, reproductive health, health financing and economic evaluation. Her main areas of expertise are in maternal health, health systems research, health financing and economic evaluation. She has also supported capacity building activities for both students and district health teams. Elizabeth is also actively engaged in policy dialogues at district and national level. She is the Chair for the Advisory Council for Amref Health Africa in Uganda.

  • Anthony Chamungwana Anthony Chamungwana Director ×

    Anthony Chamungwana is a seasoned Investment Banker and Governance Expert with over 22 years of experience in Banking, Finance, Strategy, Risk Management, Public Private Partnership, Franchising and Governance. Anthony is the founder and CEO of Intercapital Limited, a leading multi disciplinary Advisory firm covering Africa region and current Board Chair for AMREF Health Africa Tanzania. Prior establishing Intercapital, He worked as an Investment Manager for Meryl Lynch (USA), as a Director of Treasury for CRDB Bank PLC (Tanzania), Treasury Manager for NMB Bank PLC (Tanzania), as an Assistant Group Treasurer and Corporate Services Manager for Tanzania Development Finance Co. Limited (TDFL- Tanzania). Anthony has been involved in governance and oversight roles where he served as a Board Chair for World Vision Tanzania, Board Member and Chair for Audit, Finance and Risk Committee for HABITAT for Humanity Tanzania and as a Board of Trustee for Simusolar Inc. (USA). Anthony is a member of several professional organizations, including Institute of Directors (Kenya), Energy Council and Climate Council and has authored a number of books on business and entrepreneurship. Anthony holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science in Finance from the United States International University.

  • Dr Githinji Gitahi Dr Githinji Gitahi ‎Group Chief Executive Officer ×

    A passionate advocate for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Africa, Dr Githinji Gitahi joined Amref Health Africa as the Global Chief Executive Officer in June 2015. Amref Health Africa, headquartered in Kenya, is the largest Africa-based international health and development organisation providing training and health services to over 20 million people annually in at least 35 countries in Africa. Until his appointment to Amref Health Africa, Dr Gitahi was the Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, Smile Train International. Prior to that, Dr Gitahi was Managing Director for Monitor Publications in Uganda as well as General Manager for Marketing and Circulation in East Africa for the Nation Media Group. He held progressively senior positions at GlaxoSmithKline and worked at the Avenue Group. Dr Gitahi is the Co-Chair of the Strategic Advocacy Committee for PMNCH and a member of the African Union Commission on Africa’s COVID-19 Response. He also serves in various Boards, notably – Governing Board of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Board of Directors of the Standard Group in Kenya and Board of Trustees of Safaricom Foundation. In June 2023, Dr Gitahi was appointed by the UN Secretary General as a member of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Lead Group - a global initiative dedicated to eradicating all forms of malnutrition by 2030. Previously, he served on the Governing Board of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and co-chaired the UHC2030 Steering Committee, a World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) initiative for UHC. His engagement with UHC continues and earlier this year, he chaired a UN multi-stakeholder hearing in New York, NY, USA, ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on UHC in September, 2023. In December 2018, Dr. Gitahi was bestowed the 2018 ‘Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear’ (MBS) by the President of Kenya, in recognition of his outstanding contribution and commitment to the health sector. Dr Gitahi holds a bachelor’s degree in Medicine from the University of Nairobi, a master’s degree in Business Administration from the United States International University, as well as a Certificate for Strategic Perspectives for Non-profit Management from Harvard University.

  • Jonathan Dutton Jonathan Dutton Group Financial Resources Director ×

    Jonathan Dutton joined Amref Health Africa in 2014. He was previously the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services at the London Legacy Development Corporation which was responsible for the regeneration of the area of London used for the 2012 Olympics. He had also been the Finance and Corporate Services Director at Oasis Community Learning Group. Prior to that he was a Managing Director in Corporate Finance at Deutsche Bank and UBS. Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Wales. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

  • Angela Muchiru Angela Muchiru Group Human Capital Director ×

    Angela Muchiru serves as the Group Human Capital Director for Africa Health Africa operations. Angela joined Amref in March 2018. She is a seasoned Human Resources professional with over 18 years’ experience in HR mainstream, consultancy and advisory in blue chip companies and development agencies. Angela is passionate about positioning HR as a strategic contributor to organizational success. She has led HR functions at Tetra Pak covering Africa and Middle East and at Commercial Bank of Africa with HR advisory experience gained at KPMG. Her country experience includes Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, Swaziland, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Djibouti, Sudan, Senegal, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Angela holds an MBA in Strategic Management from United States International University - Africa (USIU-A) and a degree in HR from Daystar University and is a change management professional certified by PROSCI.

  • Desta Lakew Desta Lakew Group Partnership and External Affairs Director ×

    Desta Lakew leads global partnerships for Africa. In this role, she has been engaged in securing high level strategic global partnerships for Amref Health Africa. Desta has served on the Executive and Senior Management teams of Amref since 2014. Desta leads thought leadership and external engagements at the corporate headquarters of Amref working closely with global partners and the senior leadership team of Amref Health Africa. She was instrumental in the establishment and leadership of the first biennial Africa Health Agenda International Conference in 2014; leading a global south dialogue knowledge exchange platform on Universal Health Coverage in Africa and Asia; and the launching various campaigns including Communities at the Heart of UHC global advocacy campaign. Prior to joining, she was the Director of Development at a New York based foundation where she also served as Director of Marketing from 2006. She is a founding board member of the NY-Westchester Chapter of the National Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Her experience includes various roles in USA based university teaching hospitals and consulting with international organizations including the UNDP, and Public Health Innovations. Desta holds a Masters of Public Health from the State University of New York and currently serves on Acumen East Africa’s regional advisory board and the Thematic Working Group on Private Sector of Health Systems Global

  • Samuel Weru Samuel Weru Group Director, ICT ×

    Samuel Weru has over 20 years’ experience in the ICT Industry. He joined Amref Health Africa in May 2015. He previously worked for Oxfam Great Britain as the Regional Information Systems Manager for the Horn, East and Central Africa in charge of Information Technology operations in 8 countries and regional centre. His last appointment in Oxfam was that of Associate Country Director for Oxfam, Somalia where he successfully transformed the Programme through aggressive resource mobilization and strategic leadership. He has good understanding of Technology and programming within the NGO sector. Prior to joining Oxfam, he served as the IT Manager for Practical Action, a UK based international charity that uses sustainable technology solutions to challenge poverty where he established a fully-fledged hub for the East Africa Region. Samuel holds a BSc. in Computer Science and an MBA in Management of Information Systems (MIS), both from the University of Nairobi. Professionally trained and certified as a CISA, MCP, ITIL, CCNA, Computer Forensics, and Financial Management. He is a good resource mobilizer who leverages on technology innovations.

  • Lolem B. Ngong Lolem B. Ngong Chief of Staff ×

    Lolem B. Ngong joined Amref Health Africa in 2020 as Chief of Staff to the Group CEO. She is a seasoned Global Public Health professional, with more than 15 years of leadership in the Global Health Diplomacy sector. She has advised and led collaborations with governments, civil society organizations, academic institutions, multilateral organizations, and international donors. Lolem’s areas of interest include global health governance and use of strategic partnerships to address threats to public health. Lolem joins Amref Health Africa, from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, where she was a Senior Country Manager. Prior to her work with Gavi, Lolem spent over 7 years working with the United States (U.S.) Department of State, Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, as a *PEPFAR Coordinator, leading multilateral programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Ethiopia. She also worked with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, serving as a Clinical Research Associate and Epidemiologist with the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination; as well as Senior Program Manager and Deputy Team Leader with the National Partnerships Team within the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. Lolem is passionate about education and enjoys hiking. * PEPFAR is the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

  • Patricia Vermeulen Patricia Vermeulen Group Director, Fundraising Market Development ×

    In January 2023 Patricia joined the Group Leadership Team of Amref Health Africa as Group Director Fundraising Markets Development. She transitioned to this role, after having led the Amref office in The Netherlands as the Chief Executive Officer for over 7 years. In these years, Patricia built a strong team of professionals and secured significant growth of income for Amref in The Netherlands through compelling marketing & fundraising strategies and strategic partnerships. In her new role, Patricia will provide leadership and support to existing and new fundraising offices in Europe and North-America in their unique trajectories of establishment and growth. Before joining Amref, Patricia held senior management positions in the Netherlands Red Cross, overseeing humanitarian and development operations in many different parts of the world. She has worked in various disciplines, ranging from marketing to HR and programs, making her an all-round leader who is primarily driven by making a positive impact on people and the world we all live in. Patricia holds a Masters in International Business from Maastricht University in The Netherlands.

  • Awa Dieye Dieng Awa Dieye Dieng Regional Manager, West Africa Hub ×

  • Camilla Knox-Peebles Camilla Knox-Peebles Chief Executive Officer, Amref Health Africa in UK ×

    Camilla Knox-Peebles has 25 years of experience in the humanitarian and international development sector. Before joining Amref Health Africa UK in August 2019, she was Deputy Humanitarian Director at Oxfam International where she oversaw Oxfam’s global work on public health, water and sanitation, capacity development of local partners, and Disaster Risk Reduction. She also led the global technical and management support to high-profile humanitarian crises including the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh. She was instrumental in raising funds for Oxfam’s work, securing and subsequently leading a number of high-performing multi-agency partnerships. Camilla is also a skilled public speaker and throughout her career has represented the charity sector at high-level events and in the media. Camilla has a BA in Social Anthropology with Indonesian Studies from SOAS University of London and an MSc in International Health from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. She has lived and worked extensively in Asia and Africa and speaks four languages. She now lives in Oxford with her husband and two teenage children.

  • Danny Dubbeldeman Danny Dubbeldeman CEO, Amref Flying Doctors in the Netherlands ×

    Danny holds a Master of Science degree in public healthcare and healthcare financing from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. She has over 20 years of business development experience. Before joining Amref she worked for several companies in the pharmaceutical industry such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer. For the past seven years, Danny has been working within Amref on the development of strategic, impactful partnerships and programs. She started building our Ventures team and was appointed as member of the management team in the summer 2021 as the Director of Research, Advocacy, Programs and Ventures. She has been appointed as new CEO of Amref Flying Doctors in the Netherlands in January 2023.

  • Dr Florence Temu Dr Florence Temu Country Director, Amref Health Africa in Tanzania ×

    Dr Florence Temu is a Country Director for Amref Health Africa in Tanzania. Florence has worked for Amref Health Africa in different capacities in Tanzania and Ethiopia- as project manager, head of programmes, deputy country director in Tanzania and as country director for Ethiopia and now Tanzania. Within Amref, Florence has spearheaded a number of initiatives that include development of country strategies, technical reviews and development programme specific strategies, technical advisorory on NCD programming, leading in the programme development and designing for a range of health interventions in the areas of Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health; Maternal and New-born and Child Health; HIV and AIDS, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation. As a Country Director, Florence provides oversight for country programmes, leads the strategic and technical direction for the organization in country; leads in identifying health intervention priorities, manages donor relations and drives strategies for fundraising and resource mobilization for the country. Before joining the organization she was Head of Cancer Prevention Services Division at Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Tanzania; and also general medical practitioner and researcher under maternal and HIV research projects at Muhimbili National Hospital. Dr Temu holds a Degree in Medicine, Masters in Public Health, Diploma in Palliative Care, as well as a University certificate in Geriatric Health Care Management. Florence has also served as Vice Chairperson for Medical Women Association of Tanzania, and is a member of Institute of Directors Tanzania. She has undergone several leadership courses including PEAK Fellowship by Population Fellows Programs of the University of Michigan, USA; and Women Leaders for the World leadership programme. Florence is a member of Global Women Leadership Network and a member of the Board of Directors for White Ribbon Alliance Tanzania, and Board of Director for Guaranty Trust Bank in Tanzania.

  • Dr Meshack Ndirangu Dr Meshack Ndirangu Country Director, Amref Health Africa in Kenya ×

    Dr. Ndirangu Wanjuki is the Country Director for Amref in Kenya. He is a tech-savvy accredited coach and entrepreneurial strategist. He brings more than 20 years’ experience developing and providing leadership for public health initiatives in Africa. He is passionate about the application of social entrepreneurship and shared value as vehicles for sustainable social impact. Dr. Ndirangu is on a mission to contribute to transformation of the health of people in Kenya by positioning Amref Health Africa to be a leading catalyst for change in the health & wellness sector. Amref in Kenya has an ambitious plan to train 120,000 front-line health workers, improve quality, access to health care, and financial protection from catastrophic health expenditure for 25 million people in Kenya. Team leadership and people development are Dr Ndirangu’s overarching and highly developed capabilities. Working with a passionate Senior Management Team, he is providing leadership for programmes (grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements) worth over USD 40 million - ensuring sound management of finances, procurement, human resources, M & E, quality, compliance, and risk. The programs span: health systems strengthening focusing on HRH, health care financing, and community development; reproductive, maternal and child health; HIV, TB, malaria; response to NCDs through lifestyle & workplace wellness initiatives; and water, sanitation & hygiene. Dr Ndirangu’s academic qualifications include: MBA; MPH; MBChB; PD-Executive Coaching.

  • Dr Patrick Kagurusi Dr Patrick Kagurusi Country Manager, Amref Health Africa in Uganda ×

  • Guglielmo Micucci Guglielmo Micucci Executive Director, Amref Italy ×

    Guglielmo Micucci is the Executive Director for Amref Health Africa in Italy. Since 2001, Gugliemo has worked in the field of development cooperation and by 2004 he had already worked in various countries including Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Lebanon.  He has held various capacities over the years including serving as an administrator and later, as Asia and the Middle East, Head of Administration and Finance for INTERSOS. From 2008 to 2010 he served as an Administrative Manager and then served as the Director of Administrative and Financial Department of Amref Italy. Additionally, since 2009 he has been serving as the President of PRIME Italy - an Italian NGO that deals with asylum seekers and refugees in Italy. Further, from 2010 to 2014 he was responsible for the Administrative and Financial Department of AGIRE (Italian Agency for Emergency Response). Gugliemo holds a degree in Statistics and Economics from the University of Bari with a thesis on the operations of the World Bank in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has a Master's degree in Economics and nonprofit Cooperation for Development at the CARID - University of Ferrara.   

  • Hester Mkwinda Nyasulu Hester Mkwinda Nyasulu Country Manager, Amref Health Africa in Malawi ×

    Hester has over 18 years of professional work experience which includes a combination of technical expertise, organizational leadership and senior level management in both international and local NGOs/CSOs including White Ribbon Alliance Malawi, GOAL Malawi, The Hunger Project Malawi and Concern Universal, now United Purpose. He has vast experience in holistic development spanning from health, HIV, Climate change, Gender, resilience, and population. Hester is very strong in networking and high-level advocacy work including engagements with high level government officials and decision makers. He has proven success in business development, people management and asset management, and has outstanding experience in working with various donors including USAID, UN, IrishAid, DFID/FCDO and private companies/Foundations. Hester has worthy of experience in overseeing successful start-up and implementation of public health projects, most notably, the PaMawa USAID Activity. Hester is currently completing his PhD in Business Administration (Organizational Development) with UNICAF University and has a Master in Business Administration from Maastricht School of Management. He is a Fellow in HIV Leadership and Management with the College of Medicine, a constituent of the University of Malawi. He also serves as a Board Member of Council for Non-Governmental Organizations in Malawi (CONGOMA) where he chairs the Central Region Chapter.

  • Josselin Léon Josselin Léon Director, Amref France ×

    Josselin Léon is a business and international development expert with 22 years of professional experience, including 10 years working in Africa. He has held management positions in various international organizations, such as UNICEF, the Red Cross, the International Organization for the Francophonie, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Josselin was born in France and pursued his education in international development, obtaining a Master's degree in the field. Josselin has worked for 5 years in public health and 9 years in human rights, contributing to a range of development programs across Africa, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia, Haiti, and Zimbabwe. As a specialist in policy dialogue, governance, institutional strengthening, and stakeholder engagement, Josselin has a proven track record in negotiating sensitive matters with government officials and has demonstrated strong leadership and staff management skills, having overseen teams of up to 160 staff members in a multicultural environment. He has also successfully coordinated decentralized offices, built capacities, and motivated and developed staff members' dedication. Josselin has also spent 7 years in the private sector, where he worked in marketing, communication, and public relations. He is well-versed in donor requirements and has a proven track record in successful fundraising. His ability to develop strategic and operational partnerships with government ministries and international and local partners has been an asset in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals. He has extensive experience in managing projects and budgets up to €7,000,000 in collaboration with a wide range of donors. His networking and representation skills in complex and sensitive environments, including media coverage and interviews, are unparalleled. Josselin has established himself as a respected expert in the international development community. His achievements and contributions to the field have been immense, and he is a sought-after professional and a valuable asset.

  • Louise Frisk Louise Frisk CEO, Amref Nordic ×

    Louise, is a visionary leader who knows how to bring about positive change in the world. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the table. Between 2017 and 2023, Louise served as the Secretary-General of Clowns Without Borders, Sweden (CWB), where she worked tirelessly to strengthen children’s psychosocial health through laughter and play in areas of war and crisis. Her dedication and hard work paid off, as she more than doubled the revenue, tripled staff, and significantly expanded operations to more high-risk areas and long-term programs. Louise’s experience in building organizations and leading through change with a focus on professionalisation, increased revenue, and deeper impact for the beneficiaries is unparalleled. Her commitment to inclusion and justice is evident in her work, where she has focused on women’s and children’s rights for over a decade. Over the years, Louise has worked in more than twenty-five countries, including South Sudan, Myanmar, Lebanon, Rwanda, and the DRC, gaining extensive experience in both development and humanitarian contexts. With a degree in Gender Studies with a focus on Global Development and Human Rights, she is well-equipped to tackle the challenges facing organizations in today’s complex world. Louise is not just a CEO; she is a trailblazer, a changemaker, and an inspiration to those around her.

  • Misrak Makonnen Misrak Makonnen Country Director, Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia ×

    Misrak Makonnen, a public health professional with over 20 years of international public health and development experience, serves as the Country Director for Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia since 2016. She is currently leading a diverse RMNCH, WASH and NTD program portfolio with an annual budget of over $15 million. Misrak has a proven track record in strategic planning, program management, and capacity strengthening of local partners, operations oversight, consortia management and public relations. Prior to joining Amref Health Africa, she oversaw a USAID funded five-year $30 million MNCH and PMTCT project as IntraHealth’s Country Director/Chief of Party in Ethiopia. She also served as the Chief of Party in Ethiopia and as a Regional Program Advisor in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda for AIDS Relief, a PEPFAR funded HIV care and treatment program led by Catholic Relief Services for a period of five years. Misrak worked as the Director of Programs with University of Washington’s International Training and Education Center on HIV (ITECH) in Ethiopia, supporting the development of national anti-retroviral implementation strategies and nationwide scale up of HIV/AIDS care and treatment. She also worked at the Carter Center in the United States as a Technical Consultant and Senior Program Officer, and in various African countries supporting disease control and eradication programs. Misrak holds a Master’s degree in Public Health and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

  • Morrish Ojok Morrish Ojok Country Manager, Amref Health Africa in South Sudan ×

  • Robert Kelty Robert Kelty CEO, Amref Health Africa in the USA ×

    Bob Kelty has 25 years of experience working with impoverished communities in East Africa, India and the United States. Before joining Amref Health Africa, Robert held leadership roles at Action Against Hunger, Coalition for the Homeless, Gere Foundation, and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Prior to his non-profit career, he spent five years working in the real estate and commodities industries. Bob has a B.S. in Business Administration from San Diego State University and completed his Master’s Degree in Public Administration at NYU's Wagner School.

  • Viviane Rutagwera Sakanga Viviane Rutagwera Sakanga Country Manager, Amref Health Africa in Zambia ×

    Mrs. Viviane Rutagwera Sakanga is a Public Health Specialist with vast experience in project management, strategic planning, stakeholder management, resource mobilization, M & E and Community engagement gained at management and subordinate level over a period of 15 years both at the national and international level. She is currently working at Amref Health Africa in Zambia as the Country Manager since January 2022. Prior to joining Amref, Viviane worked for Right to Care Zambia where she spearheaded the establishments of community structures known as governance committees to oversee the functions of the mothers’ shelters in Eastern and Southern Provinces of Zambia. She has also worked in senior positions in Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia and Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC). Her main area of work has been in HIV/AIDS, Health Systems Strengthening and Reproductive, Maternal Child and Adolescent Health at the community and national levels and an advocate for equal access for all with an emphasis on vulnerable and marginalized communities. Viviane is a Board member of Association of the Rwandan Community in Zambia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Major in Development Studies and Master of Public Health both obtained from the University of Zambia.

  • Stephen Gitau Stephen Gitau Chief Executive Officer, AMREF Flying Doctors ×

    Stephen Gitau is the Chief Executive Officer, AMREF Flying Doctors (AFD). Previously, Stephen was the Chief Finance & Administration Officer (CFAO) of AFD for the last 8 years, providing strategic leadership and management to the Finance, ICT, HR and Administration units. Stephen joined Amref when AFD was transitioning from a department of Amref under the NGO providing air evacuation and outreach services to a newly formed commercial entity in the year 2011. Since incorporation, AFD has transformed into a strategic and key Amref Health Africa social enterprise. The company has achieved great milestones and is generating vital income for the parent organisation. As the CFAO of AFD, Stephen demonstrated great leadership skills and good business acumen. He is highly regarded by colleagues as a key advisor, creative problem solver and results driven financial and business professional. Before joining AFD, Stephen worked at KPMG East Africa as Audit Senior (2001-2004) and TNT International Express as Head of Finance and Administration (2005-2011). Stephen holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Strathmore Business School, BA Economics from University of Nairobi, and is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K).

  • Caroline Mbindyo Caroline Mbindyo CEO, Amref Health Innovations ×

  • Prof Joachim Osur Prof Joachim Osur Vice Chancellor, Amref International University (AMIU) ×

    Joachim Osur is the Vice Chancellor, Amref International University . He is also the Director of Regional Projects and Field Offices at Amref Health Africa. He is a public health, reproductive health, and Sexual Medicine specialist with a wide experience in health programming in the African context. He has contributed immensely to health systems strengthening in various countries, health policy development and advocacy and development of models that have impacted thousands of lives. Among others, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery, a Master’s Degree in Public Health, and a PhD in reproductive health, a Membership of the American College of Sexologists and a Fellowship of the European Committee on Sexual Medicine.

  • Diana Amuhaya Barasa Diana Amuhaya Barasa Company Secretary ×

    Amuhaya D Barasa joined Amref Health Africa in March 2015. She heads both the Company Secretarial and Legal Advisory functions at Amref Health Africa. She has immense knowledge and over 7 years of experience in corporate legal, company secretarial, corporate governance and NGO legal advisory services. Ms Barasa is responsible for creating and structuring of a vibrant functional legal department for the organization. Before commencing her role at Amref Health Africa, Amuhaya was the Acting Company Secretary at Mumias Sugar Limited where she was responsible for their Litigation Management, Compliance Management system, legal due diligence, drafting and vetting of various legal agreements among other roles. Amuhaya holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Nairobi and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Law with specialization in International Finance Law and Regulation. She has an Executive Diploma in Corporate Governance from the Kenya College of Accountancy and holds a PG Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management from the Institute of Risk Management (UK). Her qualification as a company secretary has earned her membership with the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and a Postgraduate Diploma form the Kenya School of Law. She is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a member of the Law Society of Kenya.

  • Dr George Kimathi Dr George Kimathi Director, Institute of Capacity Development ×

    Dr George Kimathi is an accomplished health development specialist with over 18 years experience in design and implementation of integrated public health programs. He has hands-on experience in core Primary Health Care methodologies with particular interest in contextualized innovations for delivering Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Sub-Saharan Africa. George is the Director, Amref Institute of Capacity Development (ICD) providing overall leadership to Amref’s Human Resources for Health (HRH) agenda. Additionally, he oversees diverse health education and training programmes spanning over 20 countries in Africa. Further, he provides oversight to Amref Health Africa’s Malawi, Zambia and Senegal Field Offices. Previously, he held prime team leadership roles in various International NGOs and the Government of Kenya. He holds a PhD, MSc and BSc degree in Epidemiology and Public Health and is a Health Systems Development and Management adjunct Lecturer at Amref International University. Further, he has successfully supervised PhD and Masters Students in various universities for over 4 years. He’s widely published and has presented research/opinion papers at regional and global fora.

  • Walter Schmidjell Walter Schmidjell Executive Director, Amref Flying Doctors, Austria ×

  • Sarah Murithi Sarah Murithi Executive Assistant to GCEO and Secretary to SLT ×

    Mrs Sarah K M Murithi is a seasoned professional Executive Officer Manager who heads the Executive Office primarily responsible for ensuring functionality of the Global CEO’s office, the Amref International Board of Directors, SLT, GLT, and the Executive wing to enable efficiency and effectiveness in their work and build value for the core Amref business. She has immense wealth of knowledge over years having worked previously in the offices of the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Family Bank, Director 2030 Vision, Chairman Constitution of Kenya Review Commission, General Manager-SKIP World Bank, and the Government of Kenya. Mrs. Murithi’s has a Degree of Bachelor of Science in Leadership and Management; and a Master’s Degree of Arts in Leadership Studies. Sarah holds certificates of The Women in Leadership Programme (WIL) from Strathmore University Business School (SBS) and Leadership and Management in Health from University of Washington. She is also a Chartered MBA Senior Executive Assistant (CPEA®) and a member of the American Academy of Project Management (AAPM®).

  • Ramses Man Ramses Man Global Fundraising Director ×

    As Amref’s Global Fundraising Director, Ramses is providing leadership, coordination and priority setting for Amref's Fundraising teams to sustain and expand our individual fundraising globally. This includes developing a framework for targeted investments in promising markets. Since 2000, Ramses has been working as a fundraiser, consultant and director with charities and charity leaders at all levels on all five continents. Ramses has been a Member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) since 2006 and he is an internationally accredited Certified Fund Raising Manager (CFRE) since 2016. Ramses holds a BA in Business Entrepreneurship from Inholland University of Applied Science. He has lived and worked extensively in South America and now resides in Hilversum, Netherlands.

  • Joanna Arulraj Joanna Arulraj Director, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning ×

    Joanna Arulraj has worked in the field of Monitoring and Evaluation for more 11+ years, building and implementing M&E systems and processes, leading and training teams and working with technical and implementation teams to ensure quality programming. She has worked for various donor and implementation organisations including Mercy Corps, Save the Children and the Joint Peace Fund covering a range of thematic areas covering humanitarian, development and peacebuilding programmes. Joanna has been part of Myanmar and Sri Lanka country programmes and supported programmes across the Asia Region. Joanna holds a basic degree in information Technology and a masters degree in Development Studies.

  • Anne-Marie Kamanye Anne-Marie Kamanye Director, Business Development ×

  • Dr Mercy Mwangangi Dr Mercy Mwangangi Director, Health Systems Strengthening ×

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