Dr Obinna Onyekwena is the Deputy Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Nigeria’s Dr Obinna Onyekwena has been appointed Deputy Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for infectious disease advocacy in Seattle.
Dr Obinna Onyekwena holds vast expertise in helping nations globally fight the worst infectious diseases.
As the new Deputy Director, he will oversee the Foundation’s plans and investment holdings in order to boost political commitment, funding, and execution of HIV, Tuberculosis, Malaria, the Neglected Tropical Diseases, and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Dr Obinna completed his medical training from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He was also awarded a master’s degree in Public Health from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK.
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Dr Obinna’s experience spans over a 10 years career at The Global Fund where he strengthened national responses to HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, three of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases; and oversaw investments that successfully scaled up innovation in HIV service delivery across Africa and Asia.
Dr Obinna’s work has produced evidence-based policy and effective interventions, including designing, funding, and managing catalytic investments that have led to outsized value or return on investment on outcomes for people living with HIV.
Earlier in his career, Dr Obinna was the Associate Director, Monitoring and Evaluation at FHI360 Nigeria’s country office, where he played a significant role in the advancement of national policies and scale-up of Nigeria’s HIV, TB and Malaria programs and led studies to understand services and systems for Maternal and Child Health in Northern Nigeria.