As the intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic began to wane earlier this year, the African continent’s coordinating body for public health emergencies went through a leadership shuffle.
The founding director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. John Nkengasong stepped down in May and his deputy, Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma took over the reins as acting director.
In an interview with Devex, Ouma talked about the path that led him to Africa CDC, saying he is devoted to putting control in the hands of African nations to ensure their own populations are healthy — in many ways shaking up the status quo. But he said that his team has faced pushback in doing this.
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About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
