Ahmed Ogwell OUMA, BDS, MPH, MPhil

Dr. Ahmed Ogwell OUMA is a global health expert with 3 decades of experience at national, regional, and global levels. He is currently the CEO and President at VillageReach where he leads a team of talented professionals to strengthen primary health care systems to be responsive to under-reached communities. Previously, he was Vice President for Global Health Strategy at the UN Foundation, where he spearheaded global health policy, advocacy, convening, thought-leadership, and grant-making in support of the UN's priority areas.

Prior to this, he was Deputy Director-General at Africa CDC, an institution he served in various leadership capacities, including as acting CEO and the founding Deputy Director. He led the agency during a time of significant growth and transformation, steering Africa’s complex and successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other disease threats, including Ebola, Marburg, and cholera. He led the development of Africa CDC’s new Statute and drove the vision of a New Public Health Order.
Ahmed held distinguished roles at WHO in Geneva and the Regional Office for Africa, and at Kenya’s Ministry of Health, establishing the offices for global health diplomacy and noncommunicable diseases. He is a well-respected public health expert and voice with lived experience in both the global south and north.
His expertise includes:

• Health emergencies, including prevention and response to disease threats.
• Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including mental health.
• Design of health policy.
• Global health diplomacy.

Internationally, Dr. Ogwell led the negotiations and implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and was one of the pioneers leading the African continent in the intergovernmental working group on Public Health, Innovation, and Intellectual Property. Ahmed is a firm believer in the power of leveraging international experience to find local solutions tailored to local challenges.

He has been at the forefront of advocacy and action to reform the health system in Africa, including the need to establish an efficient & effective local response mechanism for disease threats and health emergencies.

He is an alumnus of the University of Nairobi in Kenya; the Center for International Health at the University of Bergen in Norway; the Harvard Business School of the Harvard University; and a Fellow of the Academy of Public Health. Ahmed is married with children.