Dr. Ayoade Alakija
GUEST SPEAKER
Dr. Ayoade Alakija is a renowned global health and humanitarian leader with over two decades of experience across Asia, the Americas, the Pacific region, Europe, and Africa. As a medical doctor, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her role, advocating for equitable access to healthcare, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, Dr. Alakija serves as the board chair of FIND, the World Health Organization (WHO) Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, and co-chairs the Principals Group. She has worked closely with the WHO Director-General, FIND, and other ACT-Accelerator agencies throughout the pandemic, calling for urgent action to address global health inequities and seeks to challenge the extreme imbalance of power that worsens these health and other inequities. She was also recently appointed an ambassador for the World Health Summit.
Previously, as Chief Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Dr. Alakija led the integrated humanitarian response and spearheaded the Oslo Humanitarian Conference for Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, mobilizing resources for some of the world's most under-recognized humanitarian crises. She also founded the Emergency Coordination Centre in Nigeria, promoting the rights of women and girls in education and health. Driving her work is her commitment to social justice and equity, her expertise in global health, development, and humanitarian coordination, and she leverages her networks in the Global South, her reputation as a powerful advocate and her abilities as a public speaker to challenge the status quo and sue for an end to inequality in global and regional spaces alike.
Dr. Alakija is also the Chair of the African Union's African Vaccine Delivery Alliance/Africa Countermeasures and Readiness Platform.
Through her work, Dr. Alakija has been a leading voice calling for the urgent reimagining of how the globe should respond more consciously to the inequities in general and particularly, in access to healthcare as exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. She continues to inspire and drive positive change, ensuring that vulnerable communities receive the care and attention they need to lead healthy and fulfilling lives.
Currently, Dr. Alakija serves as the board chair of FIND, the World Health Organization (WHO) Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, and co-chairs the Principals Group. She has worked closely with the WHO Director-General, FIND, and other ACT-Accelerator agencies throughout the pandemic, calling for urgent action to address global health inequities and seeks to challenge the extreme imbalance of power that worsens these health and other inequities. She was also recently appointed an ambassador for the World Health Summit.
Previously, as Chief Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Dr. Alakija led the integrated humanitarian response and spearheaded the Oslo Humanitarian Conference for Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, mobilizing resources for some of the world's most under-recognized humanitarian crises. She also founded the Emergency Coordination Centre in Nigeria, promoting the rights of women and girls in education and health. Driving her work is her commitment to social justice and equity, her expertise in global health, development, and humanitarian coordination, and she leverages her networks in the Global South, her reputation as a powerful advocate and her abilities as a public speaker to challenge the status quo and sue for an end to inequality in global and regional spaces alike.
Dr. Alakija is also the Chair of the African Union's African Vaccine Delivery Alliance/Africa Countermeasures and Readiness Platform.
Through her work, Dr. Alakija has been a leading voice calling for the urgent reimagining of how the globe should respond more consciously to the inequities in general and particularly, in access to healthcare as exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. She continues to inspire and drive positive change, ensuring that vulnerable communities receive the care and attention they need to lead healthy and fulfilling lives.
