With the appointment on Monday 29 September 2025 of Dr Ayodele O. Majekodunmi (her/she) as project lead for the World Bank funded Health Security Programme (HeSP) for West and Central Africa, WOAH’s team with the coalition of implementing partners (chiefly amongst these the West African Health Organization or WAHO) is taking shape and her appointment will be followed by others.
The HeSP initiative aims to boost health security in the sub-region. During its first phase, the USD 500 million IDA-financed multiphase operation will involve Cabo Verde, Guinea, Liberia, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Member States to increase collaboration and improve health system capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies in the region.
The regional programme seeks to ramp up multisectoral preparedness and response capacities for health emergencies, relying on a “One Health approach” to optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. Health security interventions aim to address the intertwined nature of pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, and climate-related challenges persistent in the region, with priority given to gender related risks and equity considerations.
Dr Majekodunmi, a national from Nigeria, is a graduate of the Royal Veterinary College in London, and holds an MSc in Medical Parasitology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as well as a PhD in Veterinary Epidemiology from the University of Edinburgh.
With a diverse and accomplished career, Ayodele has extensive experience in research, teaching and international development across Africa, Asia and the UK. She has led research on hepatitis E, tick-borne diseases, and human and animal African trypanosomiasis at Zhejiang University, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Ghana, combining project management with postgraduate training and supervision. In Nigeria, she served as National Project Coordinator for FAO’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), where she led implementation of the Global Health Security project.
Her expertise includes the design and delivery of impactful programmes in health, agriculture, education and rural development, strengthening health systems and tackling antimicrobial resistance through the One Health approach.
With a strategic vision and an unwavering commitment to Global Health Security, Dr Ayodele O. Majekodunmi is a leading figure in advancing infectious disease prevention and control, while building capacity and fostering innovation across veterinary and public health sectors in Africa and beyond.
Dr Majekodunmi can be contacted at : [email protected]
