DR. GAFAR ALAWODE was born on the 3rd of May 1975 to thefamily of Late ALHAJI SALAWU ALAWODE AND ALHAJA SELIATALAWODE.He attended Ansarudeen Primary School ljagbo before proceeding to Oyun Baptist High School for his secondary education. He studied Medicine and Surgery at the University of llorin, graduating with an MBBS degree in 2001. He won a Nestle Scholarship to study and obtained a Master’s degree in Tropical Medicine at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom, in 2006. He also took health system-related professional courses at Harvard School of Public Health in the United States of America (USA).
DR. GAFAR ALAWODE is an experienced Public Health practitioner and a seasoned Programme Manager. He has managed several donor-funded development projects at the senior level in Nigeria and other developing countries, including Liberia and Uganda. He was a Country Manager For Liverpool Associates in Tropical Health (LATH), State Team Lead for the DFID-funded Partnership for Transforming Health System 2 (PATHS2), Chief of Party for the USAID-funded Health Finance and Governance project, and Country Director for Health Policy Plus. DR. ALAWODE designed and worked with other stakeholders to introduce Universal Health Coverage (UHC)-related innovations, including the Legislative Network for UHC and UHC 2023 Forum,where he led a team of health policy advocates to develop a citizen-led health agenda and health security agenda geared towards shaping the health manifestos of political parties. He was appointed a member of the core group for health financing resilience community of practice by the World Bank. He also led a team of other experts to prepare a policy position paper that advised 54 Commonwealth Ministers of Health on effective aid utilization and domestic resource mobilization for health.
He is currently the Managing Partner/Program Director at Development Governance International (DGI) Consult.
In recognition of his contribution to health reform in developing countries, he was awarded a Membership of the UK Faculty of Public Health through distinction. This membership category is only offered to those recognized as having distinguished themselves through their significant contribution to public health practice, policy, research or the speciality of public health.
DR. GAFAR ALAWODE actively contributes to community development by providing leadership and resources to support community and religious groups in fostering their community development activities. He provided leadership and financial support to ljagbo Connect to provide palliative support for more than six hundred households during COVID-19. He inspired the creation of the Ramadan Support Group, which has cumulatively supported more than one thousand beneficiaries during the month of Ramadan in the last four years and also inspired resource mobilization for mosque renovation. He currently chairs the Abuja chapter of the ljagbo Descendant Union, where he works with other executive members to raise funds and oversee the chapter’s development projects, especially the construction of perimeter fencing for the Comprehensive Health Centre. He also provides financial support and inspiration for the 1993 set of Oyun Baptist High School for the ongoing construction of a school clinic. Beyond the Ijagbo community, he provided resources to the lbolo Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mining And Agriculture (ICCIMA) to support their skill acquisition and enterprise promotion activities including training of more than seventy participants on modern animal husbandry. He recently incorporated a community-based organisation, Obelawo Centre for Education, Entrepreneurship And Leadership Development (OCEELD), which is aimed at promoting education, entrepreneurship and leadership development in Ibolo land and its neighbouring communities.
DR.GAFAR ALAWODE is married and blessed with children.
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