Dr Annette Ofunne Akinsete has been the CEO/National Director of Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria since 2013, where she continues to propel successful innovative strategies for the prevention, management, care and support of sickle cell disease through – inter alia – public-private partnerships, arts in medicine, and family support systems.

Annette Akinsete is a woman of many parts; she is – inter alia – a consultant public health physician, an astute administrator, a teacher and a broadcaster. A distinguished Fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, she was a Director in the Public Health Department of the Federal Ministry of Health for many years (where she was known as “The Leader of Leaders”), and has represented the Federal Republic of Nigeria at several multilateral and bilateral engagements all over the world.

As a public health physician, Dr Akinsete has worked at every level of government in Nigeria – from local, state to federal levels. At the global level, she has contributed to World Health Organization (WHO) publications on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), served as a WHO Fellow in Geneva, and as a UN Cares Facilitator at the United Nations HQ in New York.

Dr Akinsete, who is a member of several professional societies and a Commissioner of the Nigeria NCDI Poverty Commission, is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Eko University of Medicine and a member of the board of the University of Ibadan Research Foundation. She is a key resource person for the West African Health Organisation and represents Women’s Board at the United Nations.

She is a Chartered Management Consultant and a recipient of numerous awards, and continues to be involved in the formation of young girls as a Brownie Owl.

She is happily married to Captain Sina Akinsete, and they are blessed with well-accomplished children and grandchildren.

Dr Akinsete will be speaking on “Making Hay While the Sun Shines: Steps to Psycho-Social Wellbeing in Old Age”.