Dr. Jerome Onome Mafeni is the Managing Director/CEO at Mafeni Pedodent Hospitals and Healthcare Limited. He is a Consultant in Health Systems Strengthening, Health Policy development and implementation, Health Projects and Program Implementation, Health Services delivery, Evaluation and Operational Research, Advocacy, Knowledge Management and Capacity Building and has consulted for varied organizations such as the World Health Organization, World Bank, UNAIDS, UNDP, DFID, Mott MacDonald, Palladium, URC, RTI, MSH, FMOH, NACA, etc.
A transformative, results-oriented leader with over 30 years of health development experience and 15 years of experience managing complex projects in Nigeria and Botswana, for domestic and international agencies; adept at guiding technical, operational, and financial aspects of multiple, simultaneous projects; experience with funders includes USAID, CDC, Global Fund, EU, Gates Foundation, Merck Foundation, JICA, DFID, and private sector clients.
Experienced in program design, M&E strategies, policy analysis, strategic planning, information communication technologies, economic management, and research with strong interpersonal skills and highly developed capacity to build relationships at the national, state, and local level in both northern and southern Nigeria. Served as CEO for African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP) in Botswana overseeing portfolio of $160 million and 165 staff; through belt-tightening and diversification of funding base, led the successful transformation of ACHAP from a donor-dependent public-private partnership—funded jointly by the Gates and Merck Foundations with the Government of Botswana—to an independent local/international not-for-profit organization. Through ACHAP, achieved over 90% coverage levels for all eligible HIV and AIDS treatment candidates, and provided 70% of total male circumcisions in the country.
Served as COP of Futures Group’s $19million USAID-funded Enabling HIV/AIDS, TB, and Social Sector Environment (ENHANSE) Project whose ceiling was subsequently raised to over $24 million in recognition of high performance, and as Country Director under the POLICY II Project; concurrently with these positions, served as a member of the Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism(CCM) in Nigeria, and was then elected as Chair of the CCM, leading proposal development for the Global Fund Round 8, which resulted in five-year funding of more than $800 million for health systems strengthening and scale-up of malaria programs nationwide.
Held senior leadership positions for various organizations; served as RTI’s Nigeria Country Director and Senior Technical Advisor for the Global Health Group and oversaw the malaria indoor residual spraying program; was Executive Director of the $10 million Achieving Health Nigeria Initiative (AHNi) for FHI360 covering seven states in the Lagos and FCT zones while serving as Director of Health Policy and Systems Management in Nigeria overseeing USG-funded HIV and AIDS and malaria programs with a total funding portfolio in excess of $450 million covering all states in the country and a total staff strength in excess of 700.
Author or co-author of more than 30 articles and research papers; contributed to more than 20 publications; helped develop approximately 50 publications under the POLICY and ENHANSE projects on topics including HIV and AIDS, population policy, reproductive and maternal health, child survival (malaria, immunization, nutrition), and OVC.
Holds a Bachelor of Dental Surgery from University of Benin and an MPH from University of Lagos in Nigeria and a Masters of Dental Science from the University of Melbourne in Australia; and has attended several leadership and technical development courses in various countries. Fluent in English and Hausa and proficient in French.
Successes
- Led ACHAP from total donor dependency to sustaining by winning bid to become the Principal Recipient for Botswana; now implementing the Global Fund HIV/TB program for the private sector with a portfolio of over $17 million, as well as a CDC-funded $22M VMMC project.
- As Chair of the Nigeria CCM, led successful proposal for the largest Global Fund grant to any country, $800 million; oversaw country portfolio greater than of $1.2 billion; introduced transparent operations
- First as NGO rep to CCM, brought civil society and community voices into funding decisions addressing major criticism of functioning
- Helped increase Futures Group’s funding portfolio in Nigeria from $200,000/year to over $4 million/year in four years; expanded portfolio from HIV and AIDS and FP/RH to include child survival; placed Futures in three simultaneous winning consortia for USAID/Nigeria programs in 2004, bringing the company’s combined annual turnover in Nigeria to over $20 million.
- Successfully led the development, approval, and adoption of the 2004 National Population Policy by all stakeholders without controversy.