Akram Ali Eltoum

Dr. Akram Eltoum is a former Federal Minister of Health in Sudan, former WHO Representative Jordan, Chief Medical Officer at the International Organization for Migration and former Director of Partnerships in the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.  He has over 33 years’ experience in global health leadership, policy influence, operational research, strategic analysis as well as program development and management focused on health sector resilience, epidemic/pandemic risk management, humanitarian response, health & community service delivery systems, communicable & non-communicable disease control (including nutrition) as well as sexual, reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health (SRMNCAH). 

Dr. Eltoum’s experience spans various global, regional and country-level public health roles across industrialized, middle-income, lower-income, fragile and vulnerable states across WHO regions of EMRO (Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan), EURO (Russian Federation, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan), AFRO (Algeria, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Rwanda, Sierra-Leone, Tanzania and Uganda) as well as in SEARO (India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Timor Leste, and Thailand) and WPRO (Vietnam).

Dr. Eltoum has published on various subjects, including refugee and migrant health, HIV, nutrition, humanitarian response, pandemic control and health system reforms.  He had developed the African Union’s current African Health Strategy for 2016-2030 and was awarded as Outstanding Manager in WHO AFRO in 2009.  More recently in his capacity as Sudan’s Federal Minister of Health, he was elected Africa CDC Board Member, WHO WHA Vice-Chair and Executive Board Member.  During his work as WHO EMRO’s Senior HIV/Hepatitis and STI Consultant, Dr. Eltoum represented WHO in the Global Validation Advisory Committee and in the Technical Advisory Group for Hepatitis in Egypt. He is a member of the American Public Health Association, the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association and has also served as external examiner and guest lecturer with Fordham University/Univ. of Geneva (2003), Jordan University for Science & Technology (2013); Addis Ababa Univ. Community Health Dept. (2007), Clark University, USA (2016) and the American University in Cairo (AUC, 2019).

Dr. Eltoum’s academic and professional qualifications include an MBBS (1985; Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Sudan), an MPH (1993; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA) and was inducted as a Fellow by Distinction into the Faculty of Public Health of the UK Royal College of Physicians (2015; FFPH-UK).  His certified post-graduate training includes Advanced Epidemiological Analysis, Leadership, Global Health Diplomacy, WHO Head of Office Induction Training, Project Development, Child and Adolescent Health, Rural Health Services Management, HIV, Advocacy and Negotiations and other areas.  He is trilingual (fully fluent in Arabic and English; with a working knowledge in French) and is currently based in Cairo, Egypt.