Amref International University Chancellor to Chair Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in Africa Leadership Committee

Nairobi, February 20^th 2020: The Chancellor of Amref International University (AMIU) and former President of Botswana, HE Festus Mogae has been appointed as the Chair of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership Committee.

Established by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in 2007, the Ibrahim Prize celebrates excellence in African leadership, and is awarded to former Executive Heads of State or Government by an independent Prize Committee composed of eminent figures, including two Nobel Laureates. The award carries an initial payment of US$5 million in addition to another $200,000 a year for life.

H E Festus Mogae is a former recipient of the Mo Ibrahim Prize, awarded in 2008 for his outstanding leadership, stability and prosperity in the face of an HIV/AIDS pandemic, which posed a threat to the future of Botswana. Other awardees of the Prize include iconic leaders such as the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa, President Joaquim Chissano (Mozambique), President Pedro Pires (Cape Verde), President Hifikepunye Pohamba (Namibia) and President Hellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia).   

HE Mr Mogae has held top leadership and governance positions in government, parastatals, development and corporate world and serves on the boards of several international organisations. During his ten-year presidential tenure from 1998-2008, he prioritized health service provision in his national agendas. He is particularly remembered for his response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic where the Botswana was the first African country to avail free ARVs. He also rolled out a grassroots prioritised health system strengthening programme that ensured that citizens even in the remotest part of the Botswana had access to a health centre in their community.

 ‘‘We congratulate HE Festus Mogae on his appointment and we are proud to be associated with him and his good leadership. The university takes this opportunity to wish him best luck as he undertakes this honorable task ahead of him,’’ noted Prof. Marion Mutugi, Vice Chancellor, Amref International University.

Amref International University is a pan-African university of health sciences and focuses primarily on health sciences courses with a commitment to progressively develop innovative programmes catering to the present and future needs of African populations seeks.

Notes to Editors

About Amref International University

Amref International University (AMIU) was established in 2017 as a Premier Pan African University of health sciences fully owned by Amref health Africa. AMIU is founded on the experience and intellect of Amref Health Africa, which is reputed with over 60 years of quality and innovative public and community health interventions in over 30 countries in Africa. With this work, the need to train health workers in communities was evident and the response was short tenure training courses by the Amref Training Centre (AITC) and later the Directorate of Capacity Building (DCB), the predecessor of AMIU. These Amref training programmes run for over 40 years have produced alumni spread throughout the world who have created the name recognition, reputation and brand that Amref is today. It was then evident that there was a need to train people who would occupy higher levels thus influence health policy, regulation and legislation. The University was thus established.

AMIU’s focus is on training, research and extension in health sciences with emphasis on promotive, preventive, rehabilitative and palliative health. Its commitment is to progressively develop innovative programmes catering to the present as well as future Africa and global health needs. The University offers postgraduate, undergraduate, higher diploma, diploma, certificate programmes as well as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses that prepare human resource for health to serve throughout the health system. AMIU seeks to train transformation leaders who will Inspire Lasting Change.

Visit www.amref.ac.ke for more information on our programmes.

For more information contact:  

Betty Buyuka
Communications Manager,
Amref International University
betty.buyuka@amref.ac.ke