Dr. Githinji Gitahi

A passionate advocate for pro-poor Universal Health Coverage, Githinji Gitahi joined Amref Health Africa as the Group Chief Executive Officer in June 2015. Amref Health Africa, founded in 1957, is the largest African-led international organization on the continent and reaches more than 11 million people each year through 150 health-focused projects across 35 countries.

 

 

Until his appointment to Amref Health Africa, Dr Gitahi was the Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, Smile Train International. Prior to that, Dr Gitahi was Managing Director for Monitor Publications in Uganda as well as General Manager for Marketing and Circulation in East Africa for the Nation Media Group. He held progressively senior positions at GlaxoSmithKline and worked at the Avenue Group and in the insurance industry. Dr Gitahi is Co-Chair of the UHC2030 Steering Committee, a global World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) initiative for Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

 

 

He is a member of the Board, National Cancer Institute Kenya, and The Standard Group. Dr. Gitahi was appointed by the Africa Union as a member of the Governing Board of the Africa Centre’s for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).  Dr Gitahi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine from the University of Nairobi; a Master’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in Marketing, from United States International University and has a Certificate for Strategic Perspectives for Nonprofit Management from Harvard University. In 2018, Dr Githinji received a presidential commendation, ‘Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear’ (MBS) in recognition of outstanding contribution to the health sector in his continuing work at the helm of Amref Health Africa.