People Directory

Our team is the heartbeat of our collaborative efforts, comprising diverse experts from various fields. Each member brings unique skills and perspectives, uniting to drive innovation and impact in the health sector. Together, we are more than just a team; we are a community committed to transforming healthcare across Africa.

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People Directory

Photo of Kofi Akohene Mensah

, MSc, PhD

Proessor, Health policy, Management and Economics

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Photo of Ann Armstrong

, PhD

Director, ICUBE

University of Toronto Mississauga, ICUBE

Photo of Anteneh Belete

, PhD

Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics School of Pharmacy

Addis Ababa University

Photo of Susan Cleary

, PhD

Head of Department and Professor of Health Economics in the School of Public Health

University of Cape Town

Photo of Dawit Wondimagegn Gebreamlak

, MD

Associate Professor, Addis Ababa University Consultant Psychiatrist, Tikur Anbessa Hospital Associate professor, Addis Ababa University, Co-chair and Director, Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration-TAAAC National Lead, African Health Observatory Platform- Ethiopia National Centre

Addis Ababa University

Photo of Damen Haile Mariam

, MD, PhD

Professor, School of Public Health

Addis Ababa University

Photo of Dancan Irungu

, PhD

Dean, Graduate School and Director of Enterprises

Amref International University

Photo of Patrick Kerre

, PhD

Dean, School of Public Health

Moi University

Photo of Charles Mberi Kimpolo

, PhD

Director, Industry Initiative and Head of the Next Einstein Forum

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Photo of Charles Lagat

, PhD

Associate Professor, School of Business and Economics Coordinator, UNESCO Chair on Enterprise Management and Sustainability

Moi University

Profile

Kofi Akohene Mensah, MSc, PhD

Proessor, Health policy, Management and Economics

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Dr. Kofi Akohene Mensah is an expert in Health Policy and Health Services Management.

His years of experience as a Senior lecturer at the Department of Health Policy, Management and Economics at the School of Public Health has contributed immensely to the successful training of hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate students. Kofi has served as a Head for this Department and is currently the Head for the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety. Prior to joining the University as a lecturer, he was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aniniwah Medical Centre, a 100-bed private hospital in Kumasi, Ghana

Dr. Akohene Mensah has exceptional coordination skills and has led the implementation of several impactful community-based interventions to improve health outcomes in underserved communities. He has collaborated with local and international organizations such Ghana AIDS Commission, USAIDS, DANIDA, UNICEF, CRS, Word Vision Ghana, etc. in HIV/AIDS, child survival, Nutrition, Health care Financing, Non-communicable diseases, etc. These research collaborations have culminated in national policies in maternal, neonatal, child health and health systems strengthening.

Kofi’s ambitious personality and wealth of experience in research and academia has largely been influenced by his education in different parts of the world in varying fields such as Nutrition, Public Health, Health Policy, Strategic Leadership, Health Technology, Health Systems Research and Strengthening.

Kofi is passionate about mentoring the next generation through capacity building. He is currently the Pillar Advisory Chair and the coordinator of the health employment pillar of the multi-million Mastercard Higher Education Health Collaborative, KNUST.

Email Address
akohenemensah@yahoo.com
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Ghana
Governance
HEMP Pillar Advisory Commitee
Profile

Ann Armstrong, PhD

Director, ICUBE

University of Toronto Mississauga

Ann Armstrong received her PhD in organizational behaviour from the University of Toronto.

She has a BA Honours in philosophy and an MBA from the University of Toronto, as well as a graduate degree in criminology from Cambridge University. Her current teaching focuses on organizational theory and design, change management, social entrepreneurship, and sustainability. She has published on a variety of topics ranging from team-based compensation systems to green curricula to doctoral experiences to the social economy. She has co-authored several books with Drs (the late) Jack Quarter, Laurie Mook, and John Whitman on the social economies of Canada and of the United States. She is now working on the fifth edition of Organization Theory and Design, by Daft, R. and Armstrong, A.

Since July 1, 2022, Ann Armstrong has served as the Director of ICUBE, one of the many incubators on the University of Toronto campus.

Email Address
ann.armstrong@utoronto.ca
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Canada
Profile

Anteneh Belete, PhD

Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics School of Pharmacy

Addis Ababa University

Dr. Anteneh Belete is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics at the School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences (CHS), Addis Ababa University (AAU) trained in Ethiopia and in Germany.

He has served AAU in various capacities as Head of the Department, Associate Director for Staff Affairs, Academic Standards and Quality Assurance, Director for Research and Technology Transfer as well as Dean of School of Pharmacy in the CHS. He is routinely involved in teaching and research activities and has presented a number of research findings in both international and local conferences. He has published over 55 research articles in reputable local and international journals. He was the principal investigator of two thematic research projects at the AAU, co-PI of a Science and Technology Minister (MOST) supported research project and a co-investigator and core faculty member of CDT-Africa, a World Bank funded African Center of Excellence (ACE-II) project.  

Email Address
anteneh.belete@aau.edu.et
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Ethiopia
Governance
HEMP Pillar Advisory Commitee
Profile

Susan Cleary, PhD

Head of Department and Professor of Health Economics in the School of Public Health

University of Cape Town

Susan Cleary is Head of Department and Professor of Health Economics in the School of Public Health at the University of Cape Town.

She joined the School in 2001, becoming the director of the Health Economics Unit (2007-2012), Associate Professor in 2011, Head of School in 2022, and Professor of Health Economics in 2023. She holds a Masters’ in Economics (2001) and a PhD in Public Health specializing in Health Economics (2007), assessing equity and efficiency in HIV-treatment in South Africa. Her work focuses on research, capacity development and policy engagement within the areas of economic evaluation, health care priority setting and universal health coverage. She is interested in considerations of both distributive and procedural justice in health and health care. For the former, areas of interest include cost-effectiveness, affordability and financial risk protection to households from alternative interventions. For the latter, areas of interest include the governance of health technology assessment and related priority setting processes. She plays a key role in teaching health economics at the postgraduate diploma, masters’ and doctoral levels.

Email Address
susan.cleary@uct.ac.za
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
South Africa
Governance
HEMP Pillar Advisory Commitee
Profile

Dawit Wondimagegn Gebreamlak, MD

Associate Professor, Addis Ababa University Consultant Psychiatrist, Tikur Anbessa Hospital Associate professor, Addis Ababa University, Co-chair and Director, Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration-TAAAC National Lead, African Health Observatory Platform- Ethiopia National Centre

Addis Ababa University

Dr. Dawit Wondimagegn is the former Chief Executive Director of the College of Health Sciences (CHS), Vice President of Addis Ababa University (AAU), Chair of AAU’s, Department of Psychiatry and Director of Graduate Programs for AAU, CHS in Ethiopia. Currently he is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at AAU, a Consultant Psychiatrist, Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Co-chair and Director, Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration-TAAAC and the National Lead, African Health Observatory Platform- Ethiopia National Centre.

Through his numerous activities as a clinical and health systems leader, global mental health expert, IPT expert, and researcher, he is helping to decrease stigma and improve access to mental healthcare. An Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at AAU, he co-leads with Marci Rose the Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration to develop post-graduate subspecialty training programs in numerous areas of medicine, primary care and nursing in Ethiopia.

He has published in the areas of global mental health, family medicine, medical ethics, psychotherapy knowledge translation, and post-partum depression. He was a primary investigator of two Grand Challenges Canada funded projects – The Biaber Project, to scale up screening and mental health care in Ethiopian primary care settings; and to engage with Ethiopian traditional healers, using a collaborative care model to increase the identification and treatment of psychiatric disorders. He has culturally adapted IPT for Ethiopia (IPT-E) and led IPT workshops for psychiatry residents at AAU and University of Toronto. The Biaber Project enabled the training of >500 Ethiopian primary care nurses in IPT-E.

Email Address
dawit.wondimagegn@aau.edu.et
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Ethiopia
Governance
Executive Steering Committee
Profile

Damen Haile Mariam, MD, PhD

Professor, School of Public Health

Addis Ababa University

Damen Haile Mariam, MD, MPH, PhD, is a Professor of Public Health and Health Economics at the School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

Professor Damen is registered as a Consultant Community Health Specialist with the Federal Ministry of Health (serving as member and consultant within various national and international professional committees). In addition, he is a fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences.  

He is currently serving as Dean of the School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University (since 2019); Regional Editor (Africa) for the South Eastern European Journal of Public Health (since 2014); and Member of Ambo University Board (since 2022).  He has also served as: President of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (2001-2005); Member of the Executive Board of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (2003-2006); and Editor-In-Chief of the Ethiopian Journal of Health Development (2009 – 2016).

Email Address
damen_h@hotmail.com
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Ethiopia
Governance
HEMP Pillar Advisory Commitee
Profile

Dancan Irungu, PhD

Dean, Graduate School and Director of Enterprises

Amref International University

Dr. Dancan Irungu is the Dean Graduate School and Director of Enterprises at Amref International University.

He holds a BED (Business & Mathematics) an MA in Project Management & Planning and a Doctorate in Business Administration and Management. He is a scholar and an expert in Entrepreneurship, Corporate strategy, Organizational Development (OD), and Project Management. He has been a member of think tank, technical advisor and lead consultant for projects funded by GOK, World Bank, Global Fund, UNDP, USAID and European Union.  Dancan has a passion for social economic empowerment and transformation of the youth of Africa through enterprises development. 

Email Address
Dancan.Irungu@amref.ac.ke
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Kenya
Governance
HEMP Pillar Advisory Commitee
Profile

Patrick Kerre, PhD

Dean, School of Public Health

Moi University

Email Address
kerrepatrick@gmail.com
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Kenya
Governance
Executive Steering Committee
Profile

Charles Mberi Kimpolo, PhD

Director, Industry Initiative and Head of the Next Einstein Forum

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Dr. Charles Lebon Mberi Kimpolo is the Director of the Industry Initiative and Head of the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) at the Global Network Secretariat of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences – Next Einstein Initiative (AIMS-NEI).

For the last couple of years, Charles brought strategic oversight and direction to the AIMS Industry Initiative across the Network, with the aim to broaden the scope and breadth of partnerships with industry in Africa and beyond. Charles leads the implementation of Work Integrated Learning programs at AIMS to develop new industry needs-driven capacity development programs and support AIMS graduates in their transition to employment, entrepreneurship and further study. Charles’s dream is to position AIMS-NEI as the industry’s leading academic partner in Africa that achieves industry and economic advancement of the continent. 

Charles is a passionate scientist, technologist and change agent with over 15 years of industry experience in data analysis, business intelligence and project management. Charles’s experience includes teaching and research in the field of Computational and Applied Mathematics. He also has hands-on experience in agile software development, delivery and consulting; and client engagement working in Africa, the United States and Asia. Charles holds a Ph.D. in Computational and Applied Mathematics from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in South Africa.

Charles has contributed to several global consultations and conferences on the global education industry, in particular. He has authored several blogs and articles to share his perspectives on a number of topics including Work-Integrated Learning as a pathway to stimulate youth transition to employment and entrepreneurship in Africa. Charles is a member of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data. Charles joined a group of global experts to participate in the Programme Committee for the United Nations World Data Forum (UNWDF). He is also a member of the Global Strategy Council of the World Association for Cooperative Education (WACE)

Charles founded the Young African Technologists (YAT) that is aimed at promoting education through technology in underprivileged African communities. During his 2-year stay in India, Charles supported African students through the Knowledge Sharing Campaign (KSC) that he founded to empower the African student diaspora and reverse brain drain. 

Email Address
ckimpolo@nexteinstein.org
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Rwanda
Governance
HEMP Pillar Advisory Commitee
Profile

Charles Lagat, PhD

Associate Professor, School of Business and Economics Coordinator, UNESCO Chair on Enterprise Management and Sustainability

Moi University

Professor Charles Lagat is an Associate Professor in the School of Business & Economics, Moi University, Kenya since 2002.

He has previously served as the Director for Directorate of International Programmes, Linkages & Alumni as Head of Marketing Department and as coordinator of different projects at Moi University. Charles had over 6 years industry experience in marketing and sales prior to joining the University. He has had international experience as a visiting scholar at Oklahoma State University USA, Netherlands and as visiting Professor in Donghua University, China. Charles has been actively involved in research in fields of management sciences, entrepreneurship, marketing and logistics. He has published papers in refereed journals and presented in international conferences, workshops and seminars. He is a Member of the Association of International Universities serving as an Ambassador for the African region, a Full Member of the Kenya Institute of Management and the Marketing Society of Kenya.

Email Address
lagatck@mu.ac.ke
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Kenya
Governance
HEMP Pillar Advisory Commitee