Country Leaders
These senior staff serve in IntraHealth country offices as project directors, country directors, chiefs of party, and country coordinators.
Dr. Yetnayet Asfaw
Country Director, Ethiopia Country Office
MPH, MD, Addis Ababa University
Dr. Asfaw has more than ten years of experience as a physician and public health practitioner. Her work focuses primarily in managing reproductive health programs, developing information systems and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Prior to joining IntraHealth, Dr. Asfaw worked as a consultant for organizations such as the World Bank, WHO and UNICEF. Dr. Asfaw has been a key actor in the development of Ethiopia’s M&E framework for HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Emad Aziz
Chief of Party, Capacity Project, Namibia
M.Sc. Pediatrics: Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo
Dr. Aziz’s primary areas of expertise are in pediatrics, HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Before joining IntraHealth, Mr. Aziz served as head of the pediatrics department at Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital in Namibia. With 23 years of medical experience, Dr. Aziz’s research includes work on epidemiology, drug costs in inpatient services, mortality in pediatric patients on HAART, and adherence factors in semi-rural hospitals in Namibia.
Karen Blyth
Chief of Party, USAID HIV/AIDS Clinical Services Project, Rwanda
MS, North Carolina State University
Ms. Blyth has 25 years of leadership and technical program management experience in the US and public health projects in Africa and Asia. Her expertise lies in HIV/AIDS integrated services, family planning and maternal and child health and international adult education. She previously led IntraHealth’s work in Rwanda on the Capacity Project and PRIME II Project.
Mrs. Rodio Diallo
Chief of Party, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health/Family Planning/Malaria Project, Senegal
Bachelor Degree, Marketing and Communication Techniques (DUT), Dakar University Institute of Technology (IUT), Senegal
Mrs. Diallo has extensive experience in leadership, project management and multi-faceted program implementation for a wide variety of organizations. She is a seasoned professional who has worked in key sectors of public health in Africa (Togo, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Mali, and Uganda) and Haiti including family planning, child survival, malaria and HIV/AIDS. Most recently Rodio was Country Representative for Population Services International in Uganda.
Dr. Ousmane Faye
Chief of Party, Capacity Project’s Rwanda Office
MD, University Cheikh Anta Diop
Dr. Faye brings 15 years of experience in sub-Saharan African health programs. He received his specialist certificate in gynecology and obstetrics and has extensive experience in maternal and reproductive health. He worked for Management Sciences for Health in Rwanda, and he has leadership expertise in expanding health care services through performance-based incentives. Dr. Faye has also led and advised multiple health care projects in Senegal, focusing on maternal health, family planning and family welfare.
Laura Hoemeke
Director of the Twubakane Decentralization and Health Program, Rwanda
MPH, Johns Hopkins University
Ms. Hoemeke has nearly 20 years of experience in health communications and international health. Her expertise includes communications, facilitation and management, and reproductive health, maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Ms. Hoemeke has worked for Africare, for USAID/Benin’s family health program and as West and Central Africa regional director for IntraHealth and the PRIME II Project.
Stembile Mugore
Chief of Party, South Africa Office
RN, Glasgow Northern College of Nursing and Midwifery
Ms. Mugore has 20 years of experience working with primary health care providers throughout East and Southern Africa. Her clinical expertise includes reproductive health, safe motherhood and integrated management of childhood illness. She has provided family planning training and technical advising in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Tanzania. She has also worked with IntraHealth on previous projects in the areas of maternal and child health: DISH II and the PRIME II Project in Uganda.
Kimani Mungai
Kenya Program Director, Capacity Kenya
MA, University of Stellenbosch
Mr. Mungai has twelve years of experience in HIV programming, human resource development and management, and organizational/institutional development. Previously, Mr. Mungai worked throughout Africa for SIL International Inc. and in Kenya for CARE International. More recently, he managed an HIV prevention and care project funded by the UK Department of International Development.
Dr. William Nyagwa
Chief of Party, Capacity Project, Tanzania
MPA, Mercy College, Advanced Diploma
Dr. Nyagwa has 20 years of experience in local and international health care systems. His areas of expertise include working with HIV/AIDS care and treatment, human resources planning and management, and patient care and critical medicine. Prior to joining IntraHealth, Dr. Nyagwa worked as a program manager at the Muhimbili Hospital in Tanzania. Among his notable accomplishments is designing an insurance plan for children and orphans in Tanzania. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Administration and Policy at Walden University.
Dr. Moshi Ntabaye
Project Director, Provider-Initiated Testing and Counseling Project, Tanzania
PhD, University of Aarhus; DDS, University of Dar es Salaam
Dr. Ntabaye has 15 years of project management experience in the health sector. His expertise ranges from strategic and operational planning for reproductive health, family planning and HIV/AIDS to resource management and fundraising. Previously he worked for the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and for EngenderHealth, Skillshare International and Marie Stopes in Tanzania. He has also consulted for organizations such as WHO and the United Nations Population Fund.
Dr. Vincent Oketcho Okoth
Chief of Party, Capacity Project, Uganda
MD, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. MCH, Liverpool University, UK.
Dr. Oketcho has worked in Ugandan and East African health care for 26 years, as a physician and as a leader in human resources for health. Oketcho brings his experience and public health training to the IntraHealth-led Capacity Project as the Ugandan in-country coordinator. Prior to working with IntraHealth Oketcho served as the Senior Human Resources for Health Advisor to Uganda’s Ministry of Health, working on human resources policy, planning, and development.
Laurie Noto Parker
Chief of Party, Vistaar Project, India
MPH, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ms. Parker has two decades of experience in managing and leading maternal, child and reproductive health programs in the US and in developing countries. She has extensive experience in working with USAID where she led the Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) program; worked for CARE India; and directed two global health projects lead by IntraHealth: PRIME II and the Capacity Project.
Inna Sacci
Chief of Party, Project Nova, Armenia
MA, Odessa State University
Inna Sacci is a public health professional with 13 years’ experience working in global health, with a specialization in the countries of Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Russia. She has expertise in program and financial management, training, policy, research, and reproductive health care. Previously, Ms. Sacci worked for EngenderHealth, leading or providing technical management and support for programs in West Africa, Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Dr. Cheick Toure
Country Director, Mali Field Office
MD, University of Bamako
With over ten years of experience as a reproductive health provider and master trainer, Dr. Toure has special expertise in identifying performance gaps and strengthening service delivery for family planning and reproductive health. Previously, Dr. Toure worked with IntraHealth on the PRIME II project—leading the project in Mali—and he has provided technical assistance in reproductive health, performance improvement and training of trainers to IntraHealth’s projects in Benin, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo.
Dr. José Zelaya
Country Coordinator, Capacity Project, Guatemala
MPH, Universida de Antioquia; MD, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras
Dr. Zelaya has 20 years of public health experience in Central America. He has expertise in HIV/AIDS, epidemiology, resource mobilization, advocacy and child survival. Along with his work as a general practitioner, Dr. Zelaya’s previous professional experience includes working for Honduras’ Ministry of Health, UNAIDS, UNICEF as well as consultancy work.