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 Charles Lagat

, PhD

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

Moi University

Photo of Penina Lam

, PhD

Senior Director, International Relations, Africa

University of Toronto

Photo of Notisha Massaquoi

, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Society; Founder & Director, Black Health Equity Lab

University of Toronto Scarborough

Photo of Micah Matiang’i

, PhD

Dean, School of Medical Sciences; Senior Lecturer, Nursing and Midwifery Sciences

Amref International University

Photo of William (Bill) McConkey

, PhD

Academic Director, New Venture Program, and Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship

University of Toronto Scarborough, African Impact Challenge, The BRIDGE

Photo of Tracey Naledi

, MD, PhD

Assoc Professor, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences

University of Cape Town

Photo of Mabel Namubuya Nangami

, PhD

Associate Professor, Health Policy and Health Systems Management

Moi University

Photo of Wilfred Ndifon

, PhD

Professor, Theoretical Biology and Chief Scientific Officer at AIMS

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Photo of Kwame Norvixoxo

Lecturer, Design, Teaching, Evaluating Research

African Leadership University

Photo of Joachim Osur

, PhD

Vice Chancellor, Amref International University

Amref International University

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
Profile

Penina Lam, PhD

Senior Director, International Relations, Africa

University of Toronto

Dr. Penina Lam is the U of T’s Senior Director of International Relations, where she leads strategic engagement and development of partnerships with Africa.

 She also leads the implementation the Africa Health Collaborative, designed to facilitate talent development and entrepreneurship among African youth. She oversees the Secretariat team and works in close partnership with colleagues across U of T, with African institutions, and the Mastercard Foundation. 

As a scholar-practitioner, she’s passionate about research and programs that foster access to and equity in education, health, and employment opportunities.  Prior to joining U of T, she worked as an Organizational Development (OD) consultant at the World Bank, in healthcare and education sectors. She’s experienced at engaging with diverse stakeholders to design, develop, and deliver impactful learning and talent development program.

Her academic career has spanned research, faculty, staff, and senior leadership roles working with African, Canadian, and US institutions. Dr. Lam holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & OD, with a focus on Human Resource Development.

Email Address
penina.lam@utoronto.ca
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Canada
Governance
Executive Steering Committee
Profile

Notisha Massaquoi, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Society; Founder & Director, Black Health Equity Lab

University of Toronto Scarborough

Notisha Massaquoi is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto, Scarborough with a graduate appointment in the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

She is also the founder and director of the Black Health Equity Lab (The BHEL) which conducts community-based health research and works with Black communities to develop advocacy tools, strategies and programs to improve health outcomes, wellbeing and success in Canadian systems.  She holds a BA in Psychology from Western University, a Masters in Social Work  and PhD in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto.  Her early health leadership career established several health service organizations which serve Black communities in Canada and she developed and served for two decades as the Executive Director of Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre in Toronto – the only Community Health Centre in North America specializing in primary healthcare for Black and racialized women.

Email Address
notisha.massaquoi@utoronto.ca
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Canada
Program
Public Policy
Governance
HECO Pillar Advisory Committee
Profile

Micah Matiang’i, PhD

Dean, School of Medical Sciences; Senior Lecturer, Nursing and Midwifery Sciences

Amref International University

Dr. Micah Matiang’i is a senior Lecturer at the Amref International University (AMIU) which only trains Human Resource for Health (HRH).

He currently  heads the Directorate of eLearning (ODeL) in the university. In addition to academic work, Micah does implement  Primary Health Care (PHC) centered projects more especially  in the area of  Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH). Micah is a commonwealth fellowship alumnus with interest in Health Systems Research (HSR)  and disruptive training technologies. Micah has an experience spanning over 18 years in training HRH. He has  background in BScN with a masters and doctorate in Public Health.

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

William (Bill) McConkey, PhD

Academic Director, New Venture Program, and Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship

University of Toronto Scarborough

UTSC grad Professor Bill McConkey spent two decades in the early-stage venture world before returning to the University of Toronto, Scarborough to join the Department of Management, teaching courses in Operations, Product Management and Entrepreneurship.

Bill has supported countless students as they launched new ventures, whether in the classroom, through co-curricular initiatives or co-op terms. Bill is involved in several student organizations, including MCC The Management Consulting Club, LIVE Competition and the department’s new Sales club. Bill is Academic Director of the campus’s New Venture Program, and sits on the Board of Advisors and Board of Directors of a number of Canadian companies.

He and his wife Monica and their five children – and new puppy – live in Stouffville, Ontario.

Email Address
bill.mcconkey@utoronto.ca
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Canada
Program
African Impact Challenge
Profile

Tracey Naledi, MD, PhD

Assoc Professor, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences

University of Cape Town

Tracey Naledi is an Associate Professor of Public Health Medicine and the Deputy Dean: Social Accountability and Health Systems at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town.

Tracey has held technical and management positions in Government and NGO sectors in South Africa and Botswana. Her work includes the translation of research into policy and practice, addressing health inequity and strengthening systems for health. Tracey is the Founding Chairperson of Tekano, Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity in South Africa, Chairperson of SHAWCO and the Children’s Institute, a Board Member of the Global Brain Health Institute and the South African Medical Research Council. Tracey is a Discovery Foundation Fellow and the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation Fellow.

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

Mabel Namubuya Nangami, PhD

Associate Professor, Health Policy and Health Systems Management

Moi University

Mabel Namubuya Nangami is a distinguished researcher, trainer, and curriculum expert, with over 30 years of extensive experience in teaching and research work. She is currently an Associate Professor in health policy and health systems management and the Dean of the School of Public Health at Moi University. She has facilitated JAS 4 seminar under the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) doctoral program. As a trainer, she has consulted for the Ministry of Health-Kenya on the Leadership and Management support program under Management Sciences for Health to train in Health Systems Management; designed curriculum and manuals on Monitoring and Evaluation of Pillar 1 (HIV & AIDS); and middle-level managers and policymakers in health systems management under the Collaborative project between AMREF & MU. She consulted for the Institute of Health Policy Management and Research (IHPMR) on operations research under the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) for improving Service Delivery in Reproductive Health.

Mabel has been involved in undertaking situation analyses of Human Resources for Health training institutions and their networks in Eastern and Southern Africa, focusing on Health Systems Management activities, and conducted the evaluation of community health programs for Amref Health Africa and the Kenya Red Cross, among others. She has been a Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI on several grants and published research on HIV & AIDS, maternal and child health in areas with a policy and health system focus, as well as curriculum development in various areas of public health. She served as deputy project lead and co-Investigator on the NACOSTI/IDRC funded 1st Health Systems Research Chair awarded to Prof. Fabian Esamai at Moi University in 2014-2020, titled: A System Approach to Improving Maternal and Child Health Care Delivery in Kenya: Innovations at the Community Level and Primary Care Facilities. She was also a Co-Principal Investigator for the Cross Border Health Access project (which focuses on HIV&AIDS, delivery, and immunization services) funded by MRC/WELCOME TRUST and awarded to Makerere University in 2018-2020. Currently, she is working as a Co-PI with Prof. Constance Tenge on building the capacity of select counties to prevent Sickle cell disease (SCD) towards building a national registry for SCD and collaborating with the University of Toronto to set up a center of Excellence in health systems strengthening through a primary health care approach towards achieving Universal Health Coverage for devolved health units in Kenya.

Email Address
mabel.nangami@mu.ac.ke
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Kenya
Profile

Wilfred Ndifon, PhD

Professor, Theoretical Biology and Chief Scientific Officer at AIMS

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Wilfred Ndifon is Professor of Theoretical Biology and the Chief Scientific Officer at AIMS, a Pan-African network of higher-education institutes dedicated to catalyzing Africa’s socio-economic transformation through advanced training and research in mathematical sciences.

He has made important contributions to a range of topics at the interface of mathematics and biology, including discovering a mechanism that allows flu viruses to escape from antibodies, with significant implications for the design of more effective flu vaccines; a physical mechanism that governs the generation of T-cell diversity via genetic recombination; and a unified mechanistic explanation for the age-old problem of the original antigenic sin. Recently, he led the development of a new mathematical approach to pooled testing, which has produced substantial testing-efficiency gains in field applications conducted in both Rwanda and South Africa. He took his PhD at Princeton.

Email Address
wndifon@nexteinstein.org
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Rwanda
Governance
Executive Steering Committee
Profile

Kwame Norvixoxo

Lecturer, Design, Teaching, Evaluating Research

African Leadership University

Kwame Norvixoxo is currently a Lecturer (designing, teaching and evaluating Research) at the African Leadership University, as well as the Director and Senior Consultant for Knorx Consulting Services.

His other roles in African Leadership University (ALU) include, Capstone Manager for the Global Challenges Faculty, Research Committee Chair for ALU, Head of Ethics and Research Faculty Lead.

Email Address
knorvixoxo@alueducation.com
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Rwanda
Profile

Joachim Osur, PhD

Vice Chancellor, Amref International University

Amref International University

Joachim Osur is a Professor of Public Health as well as a Sexual and Reproductive Health practitioner. He is the Vice Chancellor, Amref International University.

He is a leader with wide experience in building sustainable health systems in Africa. He is also a specialist in higher education with a focus in building fit for purpose health workforce for African health systems. He is a medical practitioner specialized in Sexual Medicine and continues to attend to patients in his line of specialization.

Email Address
joachim.osur@amref.org
Profile Type
Faculty
Country
Kenya
Governance
Executive Steering Committee