Expertise: - Medical, Health Science, and Human Development

Languages: Arabic, English, basic French

 Bio: - Dr: Dhekra Amin Annuzaili (@DrAnnuzaili) is a pediatrician and public health specialist with over 20 years of professional experience in health and human development on regional and country projects in the Middle East/ North Africa. She has engaged with the government, UN agencies, donors, and other partners in the development of policies, strategies, policy analysis, development of technical and operational guidelines, and research, and pioneered in the identification of innovative approaches to strategic program delivery based on human rights framework and multi-sectoral approaches for human capital development. Dhekra has contributed to designing solutions and project management in areas related to health systems, population, nutrition, and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). She has contributed to policy dialogue with governments' counterparts in particular the ministry of health and other relevant stakeholders to adopt and finance certain development programs.

 Dhekra has a solid track of employment as a staff (UNICEF, World Bank, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative/Imperial College London) and as a senior consultant with international organizations (WHO-EMRO, WFP Regional, FHI360/USAID, EU and INGOs). Since 2012 Dhekra was the NTDs’ program manager for L&MICs (Yemen and Sudan) in addition to providing senior consultancies on several health projects in Egypt, Tajikistan, and several Eastern Mediterranean countries. Currently, she is a freelance senior public health and human development consultant.

As a woman working in a country with one of the lowest rankings of gender equality in the world, Dhekra has overcome extreme personal obstacles, and yet her commitment to nutrition programs and neglected tropical disease control, and serving Yemen never wavered. With her support, Yemen’s National Schistosomiasis Control Program has made great strides toward controlling schistosomiasis and intestinal worms.

Dhekra has proved herself internationally with a considerable track record and achievements in making the unseen and forgettable projects in health programs for women and children achieve success. The scientific international community has awarded Dhekra in 2007- as one of the MENA region's five awards recipients that made considerable success in supporting the Flour Fortification with Iron and Folic Acid program. While in 2017– the Neglected Tropical Diseases Community (NTDs Summit, WHO HQ, Geneva, Switzerland, awarded her as the first female Arab medical doctor with exceptional service in fighting the neglected tropical diseases in difficult and gender-biased settings like Yemen.

Dhekra holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Medical School, Sana’a university in addition to several postgraduate diplomas [1. Child Health, Higher Council of Medical Specialization, Yemen, 2. Perinatal Medicine, Imperial College London of Medicine & Science, UK, 3. International Early Childhood & Youth Care and Development, Victoria University, Canada, and 4. Master of International Public Health, Lund University, Sweden.

ACCOMPLISHMENT

Awards, Achievements and Scholarships

-  Annuzaili, D. (2019), A Role Model for’ Empowered Women in Science’. Supporting female scientists in Yemen. F Zakham, K Jaton-The Lancet, 2019-thelancet.com 09,2019 DOI

-   Exceptional Service award: Uniting to compact NTDs Summit, WHO/HQ Genève-Switzerland April 2017.

-   Annuzaili, D. (2017), Women Leaders in Global Health: perspectives from emerging leaders Stanford University, CA, USA, on Oct 12, the WLGH.

-   Compassion Matters: Toward Eliminating NTDs in Yemen- A Conversation with Dhekra Annuzaili Program Manager, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative for Yemen and Sudan

PUBLICATIONS (

-     Nur Alia Johari, Dhekra A. Annuzaili, Hani Farouk, Maryam Ba-Break, Abdulsalam M. Al-Mekhlafi, Samira Al-Eryani, Michael French. et al ‘National Mapping of Schistosomiasis, Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis and Anaemia in Yemen: Towards better national control and elimination

-     Sameh Al-Awlaqi, Fekri Dureab, Dhekra Annuzaili,d and N. Al-Dheeb COVID-19 in Conflict: The devastating impact of withdrawing humanitarian support on universal health coverage in Yemen

-  The World Bank ICR Report (US$ 25.0 million and US$50 million) to the Republic of Yemen for the Yemen schistosomiasis control project and HPP project- World Bank, Sanaa Yemen, August27,2018

-  Interim Guidelines for Community-based Management of (Severe & Moderate) Acute Malnutrition- UNICEF Version 1.0 2013.

‍