NAIROBI, Kenya — Fatima Isa Tafida is always cutting deals. She scrolls through her phone and her call log shows conversations with the head of Ethiopian Airlines’ Nairobi office and head of trade of the Kenyan Pharmacy and Poisons Board.
She’s busy negotiating to bring supplies into Kenya and then move them out again quickly. She manages the World Health Organization’s warehouse in Nairobi as the organization’s regional supply chain lead for emergencies at its African office.
“Everything I'm doing is expedited,” she told Devex on a recent morning at the warehouse. “Whatever I need, I need it now — so anyone that gets a call from me, I need it now.”
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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.
