Technical Officer, World Health Organization (WHO)

Brazzaville, Congo

Mgaywa Magafu is a medical doctor, public health specialist and epidemiologist with over 22 years of experience covering clinical practice, academics, research, infectious disease, and health systems management. He studied public health at the SOPH, UWC, from 2006-2009. He currently serves as a Technical Officer on the Malaria Vaccines Programme at the World Health Organization (WHO) at the AFRO Regional Office in Brazzaville Congo. Before joining WHO in January 2020, he was the Head of the Disease Intelligence and Surveillance Division at Africa CDC at the African Union in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, where he was responsible for leading and coordinating the institution’s public health infectious disease surveillance programs. He has extensive experience in the provision of technical assistance to ministries of health as well as strengthening health systems in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Prior to joining Africa CDC, Mgaywa served as a Scientific Research Advisor at the World Health Organization in Nigeria, where he supported the development of a Lassa fever research roadmap for the country and region. He has served in different capacities in Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, Botswana, Cambodia, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Congo and other countries. He holds an MD degree from the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, MPH degree from the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, and a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology from Nagasaki University in Japan.