What inspired you to work in health in Africa?
As a medical doctor with an MPH and PhD in Epidemiology, I taught in medical school in Cameroon to equip doctors in training with skills needed for effective prevention and control of prevalent communicable and non-communicable diseases in our country. It was important to train medical students in the basics of biostatistics, epidemiology and critical research methodology. I was later on recruited by the World Health Organization to provide support for polio eradication in the Africa Region. I developed the guidelines for district microplanning used for supplemental polio immunization in the African Region. I then became WHO Country Representative, and I served in that capacity in four African countries (Seychelles. Mali, Zambia and South Africa), coordinating the efforts of WHO in strengthening the health systems of those countries.
My 30-year association with Rotary International began in 1995 when I became a Rotarian. Over time, I served as club president, Assistant Governor, and District Governor of Rotary District 9400, the oldest Rotary district on the African continent. In 2021, I became the first Black African female District Governor in the district’s 100-year history. From 2022 to 2025, I served as EndPolioNow Coordinator for 15 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. I am a member of the Paul Harris Society and a Major Donor to The Rotary Foundation.
What is one success you’re proud of?
In one of the countries in which I served as WHO Representative, I was also the Chair of the UN Country Cooperating Mechanism (CCM) for the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS/TB/Malaria. On starting my tenure there, I realized that the funds of the Global Fund were prone to being mismanaged and misused, without proper accountability and stewardship of the funds. It was clear that both UN and national health staff were aware of the rampant mismanagement, but no one wanted to be the scape goat for pointing out these excesses. For example, a catered sumptuous buffet lunch would be ordered for a two-hour mid-morning meeting of the CCM, and most of the food would go untouched because participants had to rush back to work after the meeting. The food would have been paid for but the service provider would go away with all of the uneaten food, a great waste of resources, especially when there were known stockouts of basic first-line supplies for TB and malaria! I called out these excesses to national health authorities, to no avail, and alerted my Regional Office. I also refused to sign off on fictitious/inaccurate HIV/AIDS data that were being sent to the GFATM in Geneva. Naturally, I got a huge backlash from national health top management but I stood my ground and risked being persona non grata. I explained the goings on to my Regional Director when complaints about me were sent to him.I asked the Regional Office to verify from independent sources the truthfulness of my report to him, and he realised that I had stood firmly for stewardship and accountability of UN funds. I retained my post till the end of my tenure in that country, and was promoted to run a bigger WHO country office.
What’s the hardest part of your work as a woman in health leadership? How are you tackling it?
I retired from WHO in 2013, after being Country Representative in four African countries over 13 years (1998-2012). There were not too many women then in health leadership in sub-Saharan Africa. Many of the countries in Africa were/are ruled by male-dominated governments that had/have females in marginal roles in government. It was therefore quite challenging in some of these countries to make concrete and technically sound suggestions aimed at strengthening health systems. The initial natural response was not to be taken seriously, given that the suggestions came from a woman. However, quiet reticence and evidence-backed insistence on solid health reasoning won the day, sometimes only after unnecessary delays due to traditional macho behaviours. Patience and steadfast insistence on “following the science” proved effective in convincing national leaders that women in health leadership were/are just as competent, and many times more competent than their male counterparts.
What change do you want to see in the next 5 years?
More women health professionals should be given the opportunity to thrive in leadership positions, both in national governments and in international multi-national organizations. I would also like to see more inclusion of retired women health leaders in think-tanks and boards. They still have a lot to offer, both to their peers and to younger health professionals for whom they can be coaches and mentors.
What advice do you have for women chasing their dreams working in health?
It is imperative that women in health professions forge ahead and specialize in disciplines that have been considered “male domains”, such as health economics, One Health, big data studies, artificial intelligence in health etc.