Toyin Saraki, Founder-President of The Well-being Foundation Africa (WBFA) and wife of former Senate President Bukola Saraki has been appointed by the World Health Organization as Ambassador for Global Health.
This is contained in a statement issued by the WHO Foundation.
The newly appointed ambassador would resume her duties this week at the third meeting of the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) In Johannesburg, South Africa, where they will focus on the work of the World Health Organization in Africa in the context of the WHO’s 13th General Program of Work.
Mrs Saraki has been an advocate for women and children’s health and empowerment. She spent the last two decades advocating for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and the need to end gender-based violence and discrimination in communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mrs Saraki leads Nigeria CSO’s Primary Health Care Revitalisation Support Coalition. She also served as the Inaugural Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) 2014-2020, and she is a Johns Hopkins Women Advocates For Vaccine Access Champion, amongst other roles.
What you should know about WHO Foundation
WHO Foundation is an independent grant-making entity created by the World Health Organization in 2020 aimed at supporting the Organization’s efforts to address the most pressing global health challenges.
The foundation will also help in mobilizing new funding from diverse sources such as philanthropists, corporate entities and members of the public for the purpose of transforming the global health ecosystem.
The CEO of WHO, Anil Soni upon the appointment of Mrs Toyin Saraki hailed her decades of work committed to the health of women and children and commended her tireless commitment to improving global health through her advocacy work.
Soni said, “Her energy and deep commitment to educating, advocating and fundraising on behalf of WHO foundations mission will make a difference to global health initiatives. Her ambassadorship will enable us to power the vital works of WHO through the triple billion goals for a fairer and more equitable world.”