Dr Folake Olayinka

Director of Immunization, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)

Dr. Folake Olayinka is a physician, global health leader, strategist and expert in immunization, with over three decades of experience in immunization, polio eradication, comprehensive malaria programmes, maternal and child health, primary health care and infectious diseases. She currently serves as Director of Immunization at Africa CDC. Previously, she worked as a consultant advising international organizations and philanthropies on strategies and investments and served as Global Immunization Lead at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, DC. She has also led global immunization programmes with John Snow Inc. (JSI) and held leadership roles with other international organizations, including the Malaria Consortium.

Dr. Olayinka has extensive experience working with WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, the World Bank, US-CDC, the Gates Foundation, civil society, academia, the private sector, and bilateral and multilateral institutions. Her areas of expertise include immunization strengthening, policy and political engagement, primary health care integration, multisectoral approaches, vaccine manufacturing, health system resilience, and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

She has served on several global and regional advisory groups, including the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), WHO Africa Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group (RITAG), and the Malaria Vaccine Allocation Steering Committee, and has chaired IA2030 working groups. She is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of African Leadership in Vaccinology Expertise (ALIVE). Dr. Olayinka is widely published, is a co-author of the Immunization Essentials e-learning course, and is a book author. She holds MBChB and MPH degrees.

For the NITAG Support Hub (NISH) Management Board, Dr. Olayinka will serve as the Africa CDC Representative, contributing to strategic oversight of NISH and its support to National Immunisation Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) in Africa.