Wangari Ng’ang’a, MD, is a physician, health economist and a political economy expert, masterfully navigating political realities to deliver technically sound systems reforms. She is a senior program officer in primary health care at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Previously she served as a health advisor within the Presidential Policy and Strategy Unit in the Executive Office of the President in the Republic of Kenya.
Dr. Wangari has championed several reforms to advance universal health coverage (UHC) in Kenya. She formed two major taskforces to review the health benefits package and repositioning of the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) as a strategic purchaser and vehicle for UHC in Kenya. And she was central to the design and implementation of a UHC pilot program in four counties, benefitting 3.2 million Kenyans. Now, she is supporting the national scale-up of UHC reforms based on lessons learned from the pilot program. The work is documented in a case-study that Dr. Wangari co-developed with the INSEAD Business School.
Dr. Wangari also initiated a monitoring framework to detect the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in Kenya in partnership with KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme. This work generated global evidence on immunity patterns among pregnant women, truck drivers, blood donors, health workers and those with confirmed COVID-19 infections over a time-series. This research has led to over 10 peer-reviewed articles. In 2020, she received the Uzalendo Award for her efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19.
Dr. Wangari has also focused on other human capital development factors, including malnutrition. She led a national qualitative study in Kenya on household perspectives on drivers of stunting within the first 1,000 days. The study provides foundational evidence that can be useful for the design of future social assistance programs.
Dr. Wangari holds a medical degree from the University of Nairobi and is registered as a medical practitioner with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council. She also holds a master’s degree in health policy, planning and financing from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Dr. Wangari is frequently invited to speak on topics such as health system reform, including at the biannual Health Systems Research symposia, and the Montreux health financing meetings. She is proficient in English, Kiswahili and Kikuyu and speaks basic Spanish and French.
