Dr. Ahmed Ogwell - Acting Director, Africa CDC - Leading Public Health Innovation Across Africa

Dr. Ahmed Ogwell ( https://africacdc.org/people/ahmed-ogwell-ouma/ ) is the Acting Director at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) – a specialized agency of the African Union (AU). In this capacity, he works with AU Member States and other partners, leading a team of experts in securing Africa’s health through effective preparedness, early detection and rapid response to disease outbreaks and public health emergencies on the continent of Africa.

Dr. Ogwell has over 25 years of experience in public health as a social and developmental agenda at national, regional, and global levels. He has ably held senior positions in national government, the United Nations (UN) system, non-governmental organizations, and the AU.

Dr. Ogwell previously worked as an advisor to the World Health Organization Director General and worked at the World Health Organization Regional office for Africa.

Originally from Kenya, Dr. Ogwell walked the first steps of his international leader’s journey back home, founding both the Office for International Health Relations and the department for NCDs at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kenya. With a decade of civil service, he is well versed in supporting governments to achieve desirable public health outcomes, particularly in resource-constrained settings.

Internationally, Dr. Ogwell is recognized for leading the negotiations for the Tobacco Control Treaty, contributing to the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) particularly in the African continent. He was also one of the pioneers of the intergovernmental working group on Public Health, Innovation, and Intellectual Property in Africa. Dr. Ogwell is thus a pan Africanist at heart and a firm believer in the power of leveraging international experience to find local solutions tailored to local challenges.

Dr. Ogwell is an alumnus of the University Of Nairobi School Of Public Health and the Center for International Health at the University of Bergen in Norway.