Gates Foundation Appoints Dr. Mairo Mandara As First Country Representative To Nigeria

SEATTLE (March 1, 2013) — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has appointed Dr. Mairo Mandara as Country Representative to Nigeria. A consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr. Mandara has extensive knowledge of public health systems and managing maternal and child health programs in Nigeria. 

“We are delighted to have Mairo join the team at an incredibly important time for our work in Nigeria,” said Laurie Lee, the foundation’s Director for Africa. “Mairo’s knowledge, experience and expertise will be hugely valuable in helping to improve people’s health and reducing poverty.”

After medical training at the University of Jos, Dr. Mandara practiced at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, northern Nigeria. Between 2005 and 2010, Dr. Mandara was a Senior Country Adviser in Nigeria to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. She then worked as the Nigeria-based Health Systems Adviser for the Earth Institute at New York’s Columbia University.

“I’m excited to be joining the Gates Foundation and am looking forward to working with local partners in Nigeria to help deliver improved health and economic opportunities for the poor,” said Dr. Mandara.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

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