We are eHealth Africa.

Our organization is supported and strengthened by an expert team who provide effective management and leadership.

Executive Team

Atef Fawaz

Interim Executive Director

Atef Fawaz

A pet enthusiast, Atef is the proud owner of 10 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 parrots. He is an avid football fan who supports Juventus and enjoys off-road adventures.

Prior to joining eHA, Atef served as the Operations Manager and Chief Operating Officer at Electronic Connections Ltd. in Kano. With a focus on personnel management, process optimization, and client relations, Atef demonstrated advanced leadership skills and contributed significantly to bridging the gap between organizational objectives and operational capabilities. 

Since joining eHA in November 2012, Atef has been instrumental in transforming healthcare accessibility and quality in underserved regions. As the Executive Director, he has:

  • Spearheaded the establishment of eight Polio Emergency Operations Centers in Nigeria, funded by the Gates Foundation.

  • Led the rapid response to the Ebola outbreak in Lagos, setting up an Emergency Operations Center within two weeks.

  • Developed eHA's Nigerian Operations Department from the ground up.

  • Contributed to Polio eradication projects in Nigeria, Ebola response in West Africa, and mapping projects in North Nigeria.

  • Expanded Polio control rooms to over 19 countries in Africa.

Atef's humanitarian efforts have been recognized with a service award from Rotary International. He was also nominated to the Kano State COVID-19 Task Force during the outbreak, further showcasing his commitment to public health.

A seasoned Operations Management Professional, Atef brings over 10 years of operational and administrative oversight to complex programs. He excels in developing strategic business plans and key performance indicators to maximize program success.
Atef holds a BSc in Computer Communications Engineering from the Lebanese International University, Beirut, and an MSc in Global Studies.

Currently, as the Executive Director, Atef provides executive management for the entire organization as well as programmatic and strategic leadership in the framework of the organization's business development and relationship building. He also provides thought-leadership for the organization’s strategic capacity building.

Ben Igbinosa

Director of Finance and Administration

Ben Igbinosa

Ben has a zero tolerance for lying, fraud and laziness. He enjoys community work, music and farming..

Ben joined eHealth Africa in July 2023 as Director of Finance and Administration. He oversees eHealth Africa’s Finance, Grants, contracts, Human Resources, and Procurement departments. He works with the Executive Director, Management team, and Country staff to ensure that eHA maintains practical and efficient systems that enable the organization to fulfill its mission to improve health systems. Ben directly supervises the department leads for Finance, Grants & Contracts, Human Resources and Procurement, and Asset Management.

Ben has won several awards in the industry. The team that he led won the Enterprises Services award at FHI 360 in 2016. He was also given an award for exemplary leadership for the set up of the USAID IHP among others.

Ben has been an active player in the development sector for more than seventeen years. He has played leading roles in various capacities, such as IT support Manager with the USAID ENHANSE Project and later, Director of Operations with the then Futures Group International. He joined FHI 360 as the pioneer Director of Information Technology and Administration for the $450M GHAIN Project funded by USAID, and Director of Enterprises Services for the USAID $425M SIDHAS Project implemented by FHI 360. Prior to joining eHealth Africa, he was the Director of Finance and Administration with the Palladium Group’s USAID Integrated Health Program (IHP).

Ben holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration, a Master of Business Administration, a Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science, and a Bachelor of Education and Economics, all from the University of Benin, Benin City. He is also a Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Management (Chartered), and a member of the Information Systems and Control Association (ISACA), USA. He also holds a Project Management for Development Pro I, among others.

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David Akpan

Deputy Director, Programs and Impact

David Akpan

When he is not working, David loves listening to comedy skits, enjoys dancing, and occasionally serves as Master for Ceremony in closed friends events.

David joined eHA in March 2022 as the Deputy Director, Programs and Impact. He is the current lead for the Programs and Impact directorate at eHA and oversees the coordination and administration of all new and ongoing projects/programs portfolios across Africa. 

David’s role also includes leading strategic engagement and new business development opportunities geared toward a rapid growth of eHA in new frontiers within the health sector, driving the program design, program implementation strategy, and designing research and evaluation methods.

Before joining eHA, David was the Technical Lead and Deputy Chief of Party for a $21.5 Million USAID-funded Integrated Child Health and Social Service Award (Lot 1) implemented in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Bayelsa States. David successfully led the writing of these awards in recent years: USAID/ICHSSA1 (2019: $21.5Million); USAID/ICHSSA4 (2019: $20.5Million); USAID/ACE C4 (2022: $40Million). He also serves as the lead writer for CCCRN on the 2022 CDC Nigeria RFA: Delivering Comprehensive and Sustainable HIV/AIDS Clinical and Community Services to Achieve HIV Epidemic Control in Subnational Units in Nigeria; and a Thematic Lead writer (Orphans and Vulnerable Children & DREAMS-Sexual Prevention programs) for the CDC RFA Strengthening Care and Support Services for Highly Vulnerable Populations, Orphans and Vulnerable Children and their Families, plus HIV Prevention for Youth in the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire under PEPFAR. 

David holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Public Health Project Management from LIGS University, Hawaii. He also holds three Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Roehampton, London; Humanitarian Aid and International Cooperation from KALU Institute in Spain; and Project Leadership and Systems Thinking from Cornell University, New York. David has a first degree in Environmental Education from the University of Calabar, Calabar - Nigeria. 

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Sylvia Kalley

Country Representative, Sierra Leone

Sylvia Kalley

Sylvia is full of energy and ideas! She loves traveling and spending quality time with her family and close friends. One day she aspires to master Zumba and hopefully teach a class or two.

Sylvia joined eHA in April 2017. Sylvia provides oversight and detailed management of eHA’s Grants Department. In addition to providing broad oversight to the entire eHA portfolio, she proactively leads the management of the Cooperative Agreement (CoAg) with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Sierra Leone and Liberia. She ensures the overall strategic focus, management effectiveness, financial probity, and compliance for all CoAg-funded program activities. 

In recent years, Sylvia has managed a complex, $105M dollar portfolio of grants for international health related projects. Her leadership includes the effective and efficient administration of sponsored projects through the entire award life cycle, from pre-award to close-out, focusing on regulatory compliance and enforcement of donor policies and procedures.

Prior to commencing her role as eHA’s Sr. Grants Manager, Sylvia managed the World Bank’s $16.5M Sustainable Energy, Oil, Gas & Mining Sierra Leone portfolio. This entailed providing oversight on the design and management of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) project, including providing strategic advisory and technical assistance services to the Ministry of Mineral Resources; coordinating and executing financial and operational reporting to headquarters and donors; and maintaining the overall quality of programs.

Sylvia is a motivated professional with over 13 years of professional experience including the management of multi-million dollar grant portfolios and a demonstrated expertise in international project management and higher education administration. She has extensive experience in building and sustaining relationships and partnerships. This includes providing customized advisory services and technical assistance to stakeholders in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Sylvia has lived in Sierra Leone and Mali, and has traveled to over 18 countries. She has held positions with the World Bank, the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, and several US nonprofits.

She holds a MSc in Development Management from the American University in Washington, DC and a BA in Psychology from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

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Fozia Ahmad Malik

Deputy Director, Finance & Administration

Fozia Ahmad Malik

Fozia loves to read and watch TV shows. She also enjoys meditating at beginner level. She is most influenced by the works of Yuval Noah Harrari, an Israeli historian and professor.

Fozia Ahmad Malik is the Senior Manager, Finance & Risk at our headquarters in Kano, Nigeria. She joined eHealth Africa in June 2018 to examine the existing financial and risk mitigation processes of our Nigeria portfolio and to develop revisions to ensure compliance and greater efficiency.

By maintaining a sharp focus on budget monitoring, forecasting and accounting, Fozia leads the financial reporting of Nigeria portfolio. She is committed to team building and restructuring to ensure that the relevant skills and capacities are built in the Finance & Accounting department of our head office. Her aim is to lay a foundation for proactive enterprise risk management in the organization.

Fozia started her career working as a Finance associate on a US$ 218 million Power Distribution project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and was selected to lead the financial close out of the same project years later. She is passionate about supporting education and career growth especially among young people in her home country, Pakistan. She taught at a leading business school in Pakistan and still mentors and offers career advice to younger students.

Fozia has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) Business School, Pakistan and a Financial Risk Management (FRM) certification from Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).

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Catherine Mitchell

Senior Global Finance Manager

Catherine Mitchell

Catherine is happily married with two bright and energetic children. Team Mitchell has traveled extensively throughout Africa and Europe, and spent over ten years living in Liberia, Chad, Tanzania, and Italy. Catherine loves to study foreign languages and is always eager to practice speaking them!

Catherine joined eHA in March 2015. Catherine oversees the day-to-day operations of the Global Finance & Accounting Department.  By working with eHA’s finance and accounting teams across West Africa, she creates tools and performs analysis that allows eHA to understand its financial health through multiple lenses. These detailed and timely reports are critical to providing accurate and transparent donor reporting. 

Catherine joined eHA Liberia amid the Ebola outbreak and response. Playing an essential role in organizing and improving the financial systems of eHA Liberia, she facilitated enhanced donor reporting to the CDC Foundation. After her proven successes with eHA Liberia, Catherine transitioned to a global role, where she strives to develop policies and procedures that ease the administrative burden involved in executing eHA’s programs.

The first decade of Catherine’s career was focused on commercial and investment banking in Atlanta and New York. After marrying her military husband and moving to Africa, her career shifted to emerging markets and non-profit finance and accounting.

Catherine is devoted to her family and her community. She is an active volunteer with youth sports organizations, military spouse groups, and educational outreach programs. She previously served as a Board Member for the American International School of Monrovia, and as the Finance and Operations Advisor for a non-profit girls school in Liberia. Catherine holds an MBA in Finance from Goizueta Business School at Emory University. Her BSBA is in Finance and Risk Management from the University of Florida. Go Gators!

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Maryam Muhammed

Executive Projects Manager

Maryam Muhammed

Maryam likes to lip sync to her favorite songs while driving. She loves eating out and wishes to teleport someday.

Maryam became a member of the eHA workforce in January 2021. As the Executive Programs Manager, Maryam manages the workflow of the executive and senior management teams, oversees the yearly organizational results framework deliverables and metrics, and problem-solves to ensure timely completion of work and data-driven decision making.

She is a resource person to the Board of Directors, managing meetings and ensuring that board development priorities are achieved. Maryam is the contact between the staff, senior management executives and the executive directors. She is working tirelessly to improve the current processes and coordinate organizational procedures for optimized efficiency and productivity.

Before joining eHA, Maryam worked with Olaniwun Ajayi LP where she primarily handled dispute resolution and enterprise practices of the firm. She was later seconded to the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority as a legal consultant. She has interfaced with several government agencies and multinational corporations to provide bespoke legal services and support for clients.

She is a double first class, Bachelor of Law (LL.B) degree holder from Queen Mary University of London and The Nigerian Law School.

Mohammed Sani Giwa

Manager, Operations

Mohammed Sani Giwa

Mohammed loves to play football to ease stress, watch movies and spend time with his family..

Mohammed Sani Giwa joined eHealth Africa in September 2016. He is stationed in Kano, Nigeria, and serves as the head of operations management for the Nigeria portfolio. In this role, his primary objective is to elevate and maintain operational standards in line with global best practices, while managing operational costs effectively. He fulfills this mandate by overseeing technical teams spanning critical operational domains such as facility management, engineering, security, fleet, and travel/protocol.

Mohammed Sani Giwa has effectively harnessed eHealth Africa's structured and dynamic systems (eHA) to drive process enhancements. These improvements are directed towards ensuring consistent, high-quality operational service delivery, fostering capacity building, and establishing a functional work environment.

Commencing his professional journey in the Banking and Finance sector back in 2001, Mohammed Sani Giwa steadily progressed from an associate role to ultimately attain the position of Operations Manager by 2009. Over this trajectory, he amassed invaluable expertise in diverse areas such as customer service delivery and management, financial budgeting and reconciliation, asset and inventory management, and facility management. His proficiencies extend across an array of technical and managerial skills.

Mohammed Sani Giwa holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Maiduguri, Borno, and further bolstered his qualifications with an MBA from The Dangote Business School at Bayero University, Kano. This comprehensive educational background complements his rich practical experience.

By seamlessly blending his substantial skill set with the robust systems at eHA, Mohammed Sani Giwa has been instrumental in driving process enhancements that elevate operational efficiency and effectiveness.

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Abdulhamid Yahaya

Deputy Director, ICT & Operations

AbdulHamid Yahaya

Abdulhamid is a semi-professional chess player. In 1998, he represented his university at the National Universities Games (NUGA). He has visited 30 cities in the United States and counting!

Abdulhamid joined eHA in November 2017 as the Senior Manager, IT Engineering and Operations. He leads the ICT, Helpdesk, DevOps and Business Application teams across Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Germany to ensure metric- based improvements in the support and services deployed by the ITEO team.

Abdulhamid is also tasked with ensuring that paid applications are streamlined and that service costs are reduced to the barest minimum. He is currently leading the ISO 27001 compliance and certification process for the organization which will ensure that eHA has an established system for implementing, operating, monitoring, and improving its information security management system.

Before he joined eHA, he was the Chief Executive Officer at Aurora Wireless Ltd., where he diversified the portfolio of the company from ICT to mobile money operations and payment terminal services provision.

He holds a B.Sc in Mathematics, M.Sc in Computer Science and MBA from Bayero University, Kano State, Nigeria. He went on to acquire the Lean Six Sigma training and certification in Process Re-engineering from Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.

Over the course of a decade, Abdulhamid has earned several other professional certifications and provides mentorship on cybersecurity to other executives and professionals in the IT sector and guides them to gain their own certifications.

Adesina Matti

Manager, Human Resources

Adesina Matti

Adesina loves Reading, Cycling, Meeting People and Watching Movies. If he can have a superpower, he hopes to be Superman or Incredible Hulk. One of his coolest places to visit is Dubai Dancing Fountains and UK London Eye, And his favorite quote is “Treat others the way you would like to be treated”

Adesina joined eHA as the Human Resources Manager, in the Finance and Administration directorate. He oversees the HR processes and procedures within the organization.

Adesina  Matti is also tasked with developing and administering various human resources plans and initiatives to support the strategic direction of the organization. He recommends new approaches, policies, and procedures to continually improve the efficiency of the department and services performed and implements the HR results framework, and ensures prompt delivery of all HR initiatives.

Prior to joining eHA, Adesina was the Head HR at CR consulting and the Executive secretary/COO at ELP foundation where he established a robust employee engagement program and implemented an organization-wide learning and development program. He is currently the Chairman, Lagos Mainland Chapter, CIPM Lagos State Branch, and serves as a mentor to undergraduates, and fresh graduates including entry/mid-level career professionals

Adesina holds an MBA (Human Resource Management) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Lagos. He is a certified Associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), and also holds a Human Resource Practicing License (HRPL) certificate from the institute. He also holds a certificate in Global Human Resources Management (GHRM) accredited by SHRM / IIPM.

 
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Evelyn Castle

Chair & Secretary, Board of Directors

Evelyn Castle

Growing up, Evelyn wanted to be a marine biologist and attended a shark camp. Her favorite place is the beach. Going to Nigeria was the first time she left the US.

Evelyn co-founded eHA in 2009. She served as Executive Director from 2009 to 2021, during that period she provided executive management for the entire organization as well as programmatic and strategic leadership in the framework of eHA's business development and relationship building. She also headed eHA’s office in Sierra Leone and provided thought-leadership for eHA’s strategic capacity building.

Evelyn’s efforts were key to raising over $35m in funding over eHA's first four years. In 2014/2015, she led eHA to triple staff capacity in 12 months and oversaw the organizational development of eHA’s expansion from 1 country to 4 countries including staff organization, restructuring, and program development.

Evelyn has received a number of awards including an Honorable Mention at the UC Berkeley Big Ideas Competition for Technology in Interest of Society, and a first place award with the Rick Hooper Scholarship Foundation on her thesis looking at Women’s Human Rights and Access to Health Care in Muslim Societies of Northern Nigeria. Prior to founding eHA, Evelyn acted as Fellow of the Global Information Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Evelyn read Health Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Walden University.

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Adam Thompson

Vice Chair, Board of Directors

Adam Thompson

Legend has it that Adam's entire wardrobe consists of only blue jeans and black v-neck t-shirts. Adam recently adopted two of Nigeria’s cutest puppies.

Adam co-founded eHA in 2009.

He served as Executive Director from 2009 to 2021, during that period, Adam provided executive management for the entire organization. Adam leveraged his expertise in global health and informatics to strategically innovate and lead eHA’s business development, research, private sector engagement, and health information technology initiatives. Furthermore, he also headed eHA’s country offices in Nigeria and eHA’s Global Health Informatics Teams, which is inclusive of GIS, Software, and IT Systems.  

During the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, Adam rapidly built emergency response teams consisting of 300+ staff across Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea in under two months. Furthermore, with less than one week’s notice, he createdan Ebola response team in Lagos, Nigeria. Adam spearheaded the CDC’s Ebola vaccine trial program in Sierra Leone, which was conceived, designed, and operational in under two months. Over the course of just one year, the Vaccine Direct Delivery program that Adam developed in Nigeria decreased stock outs of vaccines and related commodities from the extremely high rate of over 90% to an impressive 10%. 

Prior to founding eHA, Adam served as the Associate Director for Programs and Instruction for the Global Information Internship Program (GIIP) at the Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz. He holds a BSc in Information Systems and Technology Management from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Andrew Karlyn

Member, Board of Directors

Andrew Karlyn

Andrew joined eHA’s Board of Directors in January 2017. Andrew is the Strategy and Learning Lead, AgriFin Accelerate at Mercy Corps and is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Formerly, he served as USAID’s Global Development Lab’s Africa Regional Advisor . In this role, he supported USAID’s digital finance initiatives in health, social protection, agriculture, and democracy and governance programs. Andrew was a principal contributor to The Population Council’s mHealth initiatives. This work spans over 30 projects in HIV prevention and treatment; maternal and newborn health; and poverty, gender, and youth interventions.

Andrew has designed and implemented technology deployments across Africa, including the delivery of pre- and post-test HIV counseling via mobile phones. Additional technology solutions he’s implemented include mobile job-aids and task-shifting tools for low-literate community health workers, the application of mobile phones to survey sampling techniques, and the deployment of point-of-service user self-assessment tools in low-resource healthcare settings. Andrew previously served as the Country Director for the Population Council in Nigeria. Prior to that role, he was the lead behavioral scientist on the Truvada PrEP clinical trial at CDC Botswana. Andrew has worked in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia for over 18 years, providing technical assistance to research initiatives, policy analysis, advocacy development, program design, and monitoring and evaluation systems. He has conducted evaluations for a variety of clients, which include: community-based organizations, host governments, multilateral and bilateral international donors, national and international NGOs, and UN agencies. Andrew has extensive experience working in conflict and post-conflict settings delivering emergency aid and health care, facilitating epidemiological surveillance and social appraisals, and assisting with transitions to sustainable development.

Andrew holds a PhD in Public Health and Demography from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He earned both his MA in Bio-medical Anthropology and his BA in Anthropology and International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.
 

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My T. Le

Member, Board of Directors

My T. Le

My T. Le joined eHA’s Advisory Board in 2010 and eHA’s Board of Directors in January 2017. My is a lecturer in the Electrical Engineering Department at Stanford University. She also serves as the Founding Director of the Stanford Gap For Good Program, a program that enables students to work with leading NGOs and nonprofits on global health and sustainable development projects.

In addition, My invests in and advises startup companies in the US, Canada, and India. My joined the startup company Granite Systems, which was later acquired by Cisco Systems. At Cisco, she gained extensive design and development experience in networking components. She performed a multiplicity of roles during her tenure at Cisco, including serving as an architect and designer for a project that created a next generation high performance router. My also served as the architect for a project that delivers a new routing and switching engine for a key product in the Enterprise Line of Business. She has additional industrial experience working with the Global Health Research Foundation, GreenPlug, Jooners, and Benetech. My obtained both her MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. My received her BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.
 

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Micheline Ntiru

Member, Board of Directors

Micheline Ntiru

Micheline is a polyglot—she speaks ten languages including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Swahili. She is also an avid yogi.

Micheline joined the Board of Directors at eHealth Africa in January 2019. She is a coach and business facilitator for Stanford University’s Global Business School SEED program, an initiative to transform business and leadership practice among high-performing CEOs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across various sectors in Africa. In addition, she provides portfolio and deal structuring advice to private equity and venture capital investors in Europe and North America.

Micheline brings to us over 20 years of experience in SME growth, impact investment, sustainability and public health management across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States. She has worked with leading companies such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group, where she managed a team of 25 staff spread across seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to develop advisory strategies on corporate governance, energy efficiency, supply chain strengthening and community engagement for companies in the agribusiness, extractives, financial and manufacturing sectors. Prior to that role, she was the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager for Africa and the Middle East at Nokia. She pioneered the use of mobiles for health data collection and collaborated with other organizations to the develop mobile solutions for high school level maths.

Within the public health space, she has held several management and advisory positions with leading nonprofit organizations on thematic areas such as maternal and child health, Malaria and HIV/AIDS and public health nutrition. As the Associate Director, Africa for Rockefeller International in Nairobi, Kenya, Micheline was responsible for the strategy development and execution of a multimillion dollar country program to link youths to digital skills and employment opportunities, responsible for strategy development and execution.  She also consulted for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to develop a national health strategy and costing framework in Papua New Guinea. Drawing on her senior management positions with both private and public sector organizations and across multiple sectors including economic development, finance, health, agriculture, and education, she currently serves as a Director on the Board of Oxford Policy Management (OPM), a leading policy advisory international development firm.

She received her B.Sc in Biology from Mount Holyoke College, USA. She also holds an MSc in Nutrition and Public Health from Tufts University, USA and an MBA from University of Cambridge, UK.