Gates Foundation Appoints Country Representative to Nigeria

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — known globally for its philanthropic activities — headed by billionaire, Bill Gates, has announced the appointment of  Dr. Mairo Mandara as Country Representative to Nigeria. She will work from the Gates Foundation Abuja office, and oversee the activities of the foundation relating to Nigeria. Dr. Mandara is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and has extensive knowledge of public health systems, managing maternal and child health programmes in Nigeria. She was a Senior Country Adviser in Nigeria to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and worked as the Nigeria-based Health Systems Adviser for the Earth Institute at New York’s Columbia University. Dr. Mandara had her medical training at the University of Jos, and practiced at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, between 2005 and 2010. She was delighted at her appointment saying, “I’m excited to be joining the Foundation and am looking forward to working with local partners in Nigeria to help deliver improved health and economic opportunities for the poor.” The Director of Gates Foundation for Africa, Mr Laurie Lee, said of her appointment, “We are delighted to have Mandara join the team at an incredibly important time for our work in Nigeria. Her knowledge, experience and expertise will be hugely valuable in helping to improve people’s health and reducing poverty.”