Public health stalwart and AMR expert Tochi Okwor joins Supervisory Board
For Tochi Okwor, her appointment to the Foundation’s Supervisory Board is a confluence of her experience in public health and her commitment to addressing inequity in access to medicine. She is perhaps best known for her current positions as the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Programme Coordinator at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). She also chairs Nigeria’s National AMR Coordination Committee (AMRCC). However, the career that led her to these positions – among others – is what she believes will enable her to help further the work of the Foundation in LMICs.
Tochi started her medical career “on the ground” in Nigeria before moving into public health and holding health management positions at various organisations, including MTN Nigeria and the Nigerian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies. This journey, she says, “took her beyond public health”, seeing her engage not only with government and legislature, but also with leaders in the private sector. Through this, Tochi has built up an extensive network, and has been involved in policy development and resource mobilisation – giving her a pragmatic understanding of what works in terms of approaching barriers to access in low-resource settings.
Using this experience, Tochi explains how she hopes to bring a unique perspective to the Foundation’s work: “I can help connect the discussions around access and provide a lens with which the Foundation can view what really moves things in settings like mine. And in so doing, consider how clear, objective measures can be applied, and how these can be disseminated.”
As the Foundation broadens its work across healthcare sectors, Tochi’s vast range of interactions with varying stakeholders can provide valuable connections. She highlights generic medicines as an example: her work with health maintenance organisations opens up an avenue to discuss issues around patents and how to increase generic medicine manufacturing, which needs to be developed further if it is to help expand access.
“Tochi has immense experience with public health in emerging countries. Her knowledge of health systems in these settings and her decades’ long work with government, procurers and other key stakeholders will help expand the Foundation’s network as we implement our new strategy and continue to make our work relevant and impactful in countries.” – Jayasree K. Iyer, CEO, Access to Medicine Foundation.
A new chapter for longstanding Board Member Hans Hogerzeil
As the Foundation welcomes Tochi to the Supervisory Board, it also bids farewell to Hans Hogerzeil. Hans has served as a Supervisory Board Member for nearly a decade, and his knowledge and commitment to the Foundation’s work has proven invaluable. He will remain involved with the Foundation as he takes up the position of chairing the independent Expert Committee (EC) of the Foundation’s Generic Medicine Manufacturers Research Programme.
The Access to Medicine Foundation is an independent non-profit organisation that seeks to transform the healthcare ecosystem by motivating and mobilising companies to expand access to their essential healthcare products in low- and middle-income countries. The role of the Supervisory Board is to oversee the management and strategic direction of the Foundation, and Members are also consulted for advice and guidance in their areas of expertise.