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Dr. Jay Osi Samuels has assumed office as the brand new Chief Executive Officer of APIN Public Health Initiatives with impact from October 1, 2026, succeeding Prof. Prosper Okonkwo, the organisation’s pioneer chief government.
Samuels, who beforehand served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Programmes, joined APIN in 2006. His appointment brings to the highest function a member of the management group who has helped direct its public well being programmes and institutional improvement.
The management transition follows APIN’s twenty fifth anniversary celebrations and opens a brand new chapter for an indigenous organisation whose work has grown from HIV prevention and therapy to a broader vary of public well being interventions.
Okonkwo joined APIN as a Project Manager in 2004 and have become its pioneer CEO in 2007. His tenure spanned the organisation’s improvement into an unbiased Nigerian establishment working with authorities, universities and worldwide improvement companions.
APIN began as a Harvard School of Public Health undertaking supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It turned an unbiased non-governmental organisation in 2007 and subsequently assumed direct accountability for programmes beforehand managed by way of Harvard. Its work has included HIV companies supported by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief by way of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
During Okonkwo’s tenure, APIN broadened its actions to incorporate tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and baby well being, and well being methods strengthening. Its programmes have supported well being services by way of laboratory improvement, workforce coaching and improved data methods, alongside scientific companies and neighborhood interventions.
Okonkwo’s contributions to public well being additionally earned him the Health Activism Award on the 2023 BudgIT Active Citizens Awards, the place he was the inaugural recipient in that class.
Samuels holds a medical diploma from the University of Ibadan and a Master of Science diploma in Epidemiology from Harvard T Chan School of Public Health. Before becoming a member of APIN, he labored as a analysis affiliate at Harvard, finding out the molecular epidemiology of HIV in Nigeria. His expertise covers public well being programme administration, analysis and well being methods strengthening.
As Deputy CEO, Programmes, Samuels oversaw APIN’s programme directorates, guided the implementation of donor-funded interventions and coordinated new enterprise improvement. The function concerned supporting well being services to ship sustainable companies whereas aligning programme targets with accountable useful resource administration.
His work has additionally included management in digital medical data and cell well being, alongside APIN’s contributions to nationwide well being information methods. These areas join the organisation’s service supply expertise with the usage of data to enhance programme efficiency and affected person care.
Addressing the workers of the organisation shortly after assuming office, Samuels paid tribute to Okonkwo and outlined an agenda to guard APIN’s core programmes whereas constructing its capability as a broader well being methods establishment.
“Grants begin and end. Projects begin and end. Donor priorities change. Institutions must endure,” he defined; calling for a extra diversified useful resource base and stronger partnerships with authorities, philanthropy, academia and the personal sector.
His priorities embody growing the APIN Research Institute, advancing digital transformation and positioning the organisation for alternatives past Nigeria.
He additionally outlined plans to make use of his first 100 days to hear throughout groups and strengthen governance, monetary administration, procurement and programme efficiency. He known as for accountability at each stage, together with the chief government’s, and the necessity to preserve sufferers on the centre of programme choices. Samuels reminded workers that “behind every number in our reports is a human being.”
“The first twenty-five years gave us a legacy. The next twenty-five years should give us a responsibility,” he said.
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