Dr Kayode Afolabi

Dr Kayode Afolabi holds a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery, a Master’s degree in Health Economics and a Fellowship from the West African College of Surgeons in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He has 30 years of experience in the field of Family Planning, Reproductive and Maternal Health. Within this period, he worked as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Adeoyo Maternity Hospital, Ibadan for six years and another six years as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the University College Hospital, also in Ibadan, Nigeria.

He served the Oyo State Government of Nigeria as an Honourable Commissioner of Health during the regime of Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja. Among his areas of interest as the Commissioner for Health, Oyo State included Health System Strengthening with a notable focus on Human Resources for Health and essential health commodities security. He upgraded Adeoyo Maternity Hospital to a teaching hospital for Postgraduate Residency Training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The Hospital, now known as Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital, has produced many consultants in OBGYN who are currently contributing to Reproductive and Maternal Health care delivery and research in Nigeria.

He retired recently as the Director and Head, Reproductive  Division of the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria, Dr. Kayode Afolabi in that capacity provided leadership in Sexual and Reproductive Health System Strengthening, Government Policy Development, Operations and Implementation Research towards improving the health of mothers, adolescents and under five children in Nigeria. He recorded notable achievements in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights working with Civil Society Organisations, Private Sector, Implementing Partners, Donors and the United Nations Agencies. Outstanding among these is the development of the National Reproductive Health Policy, 2017; costed National Family Planning Scale up Plan (Nigeria FP Blueprint, 2014; revised in 2020), Task Shifting Task Sharing Policy 2014 and 2018; Roadmap of action for accelerated reduction of maternal and newborn mortality, the Live Saving Skills for different cadres of health care providers, Nigeria Roadmap for introduction and scale up of Sayana Press, 2018; the National Self Care Guidelines, 2020, and the Private Sector Engagement Strategy for Maternal & RH. His skills and experience cover Demand Generation; Human Capacity Development; Advocacy and Partnerships Building with formal and informal actors on SRHR, Resource Mobilization, and Strategic and Operational Management of complex SRH Programs.  Dr Kayode Afolabi has extensive skills and experience in knowledge management including evidence generation, documentation of achievements and best practices at national and international for an as well as in peer reviewed journals; coordination of the development of National and Sub-national level Guidelines, State-specific Costed Implementation Plans and evidence-based Service Protocol.

Dr Kayode Afolabi is happily married with children, two of whom also work on Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health.