NEW YORK, July 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amref Health Africa, the largest health development agency in Africa, has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Dr Githinji Gitahi, at the global headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr Githinji Gitahi assumed his position with Amref Health Africa on June 1st. Until his appointment, Dr Gitahi was Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, Smile Train International, where he successfully established partnerships for long-term sustainability with various African governments. Prior to that, Dr Gitahi was General Manager, Marketing and Sales at Nation Media Group, the largest media group in East and Central Africa.
Previously he worked with GlaxoSmithKline in progressively senior positions and began his career as a medical doctor practicing in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Dr Gitahi also holds a Masters in Business Administration with a Major in Marketing. He is married with six children.
Having worked as both a medical doctor and a marketing director, Dr Gitahi brings an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to leading a health development organization with an almost 60 year heritage. "I come to Amref Health Africa to see how we can introduce innovation and entrepreneurship models to the provision of healthcare and to build community health systems so that we actually have sustainable solutions to the challenges of health care in Africa," said Dr Gitahi.
Dr Gitahi underscores the importance of working with donors as partners and key stakeholders in everything the organization accomplishes. "How can we work with our donors to actually transform, rather than just change for a certain time, the way people look at healthcare in Africa? As Africa's largest health care development agency, we have to lead the way for the world in terms of moving the development agencies from aid to trade. We are well positioned to find African solutions for African challenges – we have the skills, the technology and the people to do it."
About Amref Health Africa
Amref Health Africa is the largest Africa–based health development organization, providing training and health services to 35 countries in Africa. Focusing on preventative, community-based healthcare, Amref Health Africa facilitated training of over 228,000 health care workers in 2013 alone. Amref Health Africa is run for and by Africans – over 97 percent of staff is African and more than 90 percent live in the communities in which they work. Amref Health Africa strives for lasting health change in Africa, working side by side with communities to build the knowledge, skills and means to transform their health.www.amrefusa.org
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