Nigerian doctor champions global efforts to improve maternal, child health

Dr. Luther-King Fasehun is an independent consultant and ready-to-work global health professional, living in the United States with regular links with Nigeria.

A physician, Fasehun earned his medical degree from the University of Lagos, on Federal Government of Nigeria Scholarship. He earned his Master’s degree in International Healthcare Management, Economics and Policy from the SDA Bocconi School of Management, in Italy, sub-specialising in Global Health and Development.

He is interested in reproductive/perinatal and nutritional epidemiology, as well as the intersections of health systems strengthening (HSS), improved nutrition (especially for underserved children and women of reproductive age in low- and middle- income countries) and improved quality of care in global maternal and child health.

With years’ experience, Fasehun served as the Country Director of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), overseeing projects and staff in Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda. He has secured project grants from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), FHI360 (via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Amref Health Africa, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and several others. He is the first medical doctor to serve as a Policy Leaders Fellow at the prestigious European University Institute, in Italy. Currently, he serves on the Global Maternal Health in COVID-19 (MATCO) Adaptations and Solutions Working Group, based at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp.

In Nigeria, he is known as “the all-around performer,” the one who leads program/project staff to deliver on public health targets, far exceeding the expectations of stakeholders, and succeeding with government at all levels. His interests and expertise are broad-ranging but specialized: maternal and child health, including nutrition; economic methods for policy and programme effectiveness; COVID-19; and Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). He is currently rounding off a PhD degree in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.