About Kofi

I was previously the Program Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded,  $244 million Cooperative Agreement, Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program, which is a follow-on to the Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) Program. The SIAPS Program builds on SPS' achievements and works to assure the availability of quality pharmaceutical products and effective pharmaceutical services to achieve desired health outcomes. The program promotes and uses a systems-strengthening approach consistent with the Global Health Initiative (GHI) that will result in improved and sustainable health impact. The SIAPS' technical approach emphasizes GHI principles, especially improving metrics, monitoring, and evaluation; capacitating local governments and organizations; and increasing country ownership. The SIAPS program works in about 45 countries with country offices in about 22.

Prior to assuming my new position, I was responsible for providing technical leadership and vision for the SPS program and overseeing its operations in more than 20 field offices by more than 390 staff worldwide. The mandate of the SPS Program is to build capacity within resource-limited countries to effectively manage pharmaceutical systems, successfully implement U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) priority services, and ultimately save lives and protect the public's health by improving access to and use of medicines of assured quality. I also served as the SPS Technical Deputy Director for two years where I supervised the implementation and monitoring of annual work plans in SPS countries and portfolios, and was responsible for start-up and oversight of the SPS Bangladesh country program. I have over 20 years' experience in pharmaceutical and supply chain management in developing countries and have worked on pharmaceutical sector assessments within both the public and faith-based health care sectors.

Previously, I worked as a Country Program Manager for USAID funded Supply Chain Management Systems (SCMS) Project and as a Senior Program Associate with the Rational Pharmaceutical Systems Plus (RPM Plus) program. Before joining MSH, I was the Head of the  Procurement Unit of the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Ghana, with responsibilities for procuring goods and services and for establishing and institutionalizing MOH procurement policies and systems; I also served as a pharmacist and Deputy Program Manager of the Ghana National Drugs Program (GNDP), a five year $8M Netherlands Government funded program for strengthening the pharmaceutical sector of Ghana.

I have experience in formulating policy, implementing and monitoring programs and activities aimed at promoting rational medicine use, strengthening quality assurance of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical systems, improving medicine financing, and supply chain management. I also have extensive national and international experience in designing and providing training in pharmaceutical and supply chain management. A pharmacist, I also hold a Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Ghana and a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Analysis and Quality Control from the University of London. I am fluent in English and a native speaker of Twi.

The Lord is my Light and My Salvation.