A Nigerian global health expert, Dr Lola Dare has been appointed into the Transition Independent Monitoring Board (TIMB) of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has the goal of completing the eradication and containment of all wild, vaccine-related and Sabin polioviruses, such that no child suffers paralytic poliomyelitis again.

The three-member board also have Sheila Leatherman, a Professor of Global health policy at the Gillings School of Public Health of the University of North Carolina, USA, and Senjuti Saha , a Bangladeshi – Canadian microbiologist as members.

Dr Dare is a community physician, epidemiologist, global health practitioner, development consultant, social entrepreneur and health advocate of over 30 years.

GPEI, notes on its website that she has championed the application of evidence and data for policy, evaluation and accountability by a broad range of non-state actors including civil society and community-based organisations, private sector and the media.

“Lola Dare has been in the forefront of advocacy for resilient, accountable rights-based health care services and systems strengthening, and has engaged with high level policy makers, parliamentarians, large donor funded programmes, national governments, intergovernmental organisations and agencies.

“She is the President of CHESTRAD Global, an African-led social enterprise with offices in Africa, Europe and North America. CHESTRAD Global hosts its programme headquarters in Nigeria. She has served in many roles in governance mechanisms of international agencies including the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the US National Academies for Sciences, Global Fund for Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, GAVI, Partnership for Maternal and Child Health (PMNCH), WHO technical teams and agencies of the United Nations, African Union and other African continental organisations,” the organisation said.

She also has linked investments in health to social protection with resultant multi-sector actions for large scale impact at country, regional and global levels.

Dr. Lola-Dare is a graduate of the College of Medicine University of Ibadan, and holds a Master’s of Science degree in Epidemiology; with a bias for statistics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

She has also been awarded awarded certificates in Population and Development and International Health as David E. Bell and Takemi Fellow of the Harvard School of Public Health, United States of America.

She is a fellow of the Nigerian National Postgraduate Medical College, and a Fellow, by distinction, of the Faculty of Public Health, United Kingdom; a joint faculty of the Royal College of Physicians and served for many years as its overseas regional adviser for Africa.