Wamkelekile, Welkom
Dr Ahmed Ogwell Ouma
21 May 2020
Dr Ahmed Ogwell Ouma is the Deputy Director of the Africa Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the specialized Technical Institution of the Union charged with the responsibility to promote the prevention and control of diseases in Africa.
Dr Ouma is an accomplished international civil servant and an expert in global health. He has competency in governance in public health; partnerships and resource mobilisation; health security including health emergencies; the prevention and control of NCDs; building multi-sectoral partnerships; international co-operation across sectors; tobacco control; global health diplomacy; and development of international instruments that impact positively on public health.
Ahmed has worked globally for public health and has overseen implementation of country level policy in countries in Africa. He has been a pioneer in supporting governments in Africa to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and other international instruments for the prevention and control of NCDs.
Before joining Africa CDC, Ahmed was an Advisor in the Global Coordination Mechanism for NCDs in the Office of the Assistant Director-General for NCDs and Mental Health in The World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters, Geneva. Before that he was Programme Manager for Primary Prevention of NCDs and Regional Adviser for Tobacco Control at the WHO Regional Office for Africa.
At the national level, Dr Ogwell was the founding director for the NCDs department in MoH Kenya and also established the Office for International Health Relations.
He has expertise in how government policy can and should respond to neglected health challenges. Having been a senior civil servant in Kenya for over a decade, he is well versed in how governments work, competence in supporting government to achieve desirable public health goals particularly in resource-poor settings.
Ahmed is an alumni of the University of Nairobi and the Centre for International Health at the University of Bergen in Norway.
"I strongly believe that we should use local capacity to solve local challenges while harnessing international experiences, knowledge and skills."
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Africa Month at UCT
During the month of May we commemorate the establishment, in 1963, of the Organisation of African Unity – a precursor to the African Union – which made Africa a pioneer in continental unity and nation building. As a celebration of this moment, UCT will be participating in a series of virtual symposiums on “Africa’s innovations in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic” to discuss pertinent governance and developmental issues in Africa, towards the formulation of policy recommendations. The university also curated responses from across the university community about what it is that makes us African, and how this informs what we do.
Africa Day, 25 May 2020
UCT Africa Month Virtual Symposium Series
Day 1: Wednesday, 27 May 2020
Opening remarks and Session 1: Knowledge systems and knowledge production on the continent
Session 2: Why has Africa been less impacted? Best practice examples in Africa
Day 2: Thursday, 28 May 2020
Session 3: Unpacking the climate change and development nexus in Africa: Moving beyond obligations to opportunities
Day 3: Friday, 29 May 2020
VC’s Introduction and Session 4: Pan-African reflections on leadership and good governance during COVID-19: Good practice, challenges and opportunities
Session 5: COVID-19 philanthropy on the continent and Closing: Key insights and practical implications
Audio
UCT wishes to acknowledge the generous event sponsorship received from Standard Bank for the UCT Africa Month Virtual Symposium Series.
- Knowledge systems and knowledge production on the Continent
- Why has Africa been less impacted by COVID 19?
- Unpacking the climate change and development nexus in Africa: Moving beyond obligations to opportunities
- Pan African reflections on leadership and good governance during COVID 19: good practice, challenges and opportunities
- COVID 19 philanthropy in Africa
