Dr. Oluwatosin W. Akande

Dr Oluwatosin W. Akande is an experienced global health specialist and faculty member at Global South Open Health Education (GSOUTH), where she contributes deep expertise in health security, policy, programme development, and applied research. Her work supports strategic partnerships and initiatives aimed at enhancing pandemic preparedness, emergency response capacity, and equitable access to lifesaving health interventions across diverse contexts in the Global South.

Dr Akande currently serves as a Technical Officer in the Health Emergencies Programme at the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva. In this role, she works closely with national governments, multilateral partners, and health systems to strengthen capacities for epidemic and pandemic threat management, with a focus on pandemic planning, genomic surveillance, and ensuring timely, equitable access to medical countermeasures. Her contributions advance global health security by promoting strategic policy frameworks, providing technical guidance, and fostering multisectoral collaboration across government, civil society, and health stakeholders.

Prior to her work with WHO, Dr Akande held senior leadership positions at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, where she guided knowledge management, served as lead epidemiologist in genomics, and contributed to field epidemiology strengthening and national emergency operations. These roles equipped her with hands-on experience in public health programme management, evidence translation, and coordinated outbreak response.

Dr Akande holds advanced qualifications in medicine and public health, including board certification in Public Health and Community Medicine and a Master of Public Health. Her academic and professional foundation enables her to bridge technical rigour with practical partnership-oriented solutions that align with donor priorities and global health agendas.

Through her work with GSOUTH and international partners, Dr Akande plays a key role in advancing collaborative, data-informed approaches to strengthening health systems, supporting sustainable capacity development, and driving measurable impact in health security and emergency preparedness initiatives across the continent.