Dr Merawi Aragaw Tegegne

Dr Merawi Aragaw is a Medical Epidemiologist with more than 10 years of experience in health systems and public health programmes, disease surveillance, investigation and management of disasters and outbreaks, and evaluation of surveillance system. He currently serves as Acting Head of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division at Africa CDC, where he oversees coordination and capacity building of African Union Member States for emergency preparedness and response, and the preparation for medical and non-medical countermeasures. He coordinates activities of the African Volunteer Health Corps (AVoHC), an initiative that enables young Africans to serve the continent as standby public health emergency workforce. From 2013 to 2016, he served as a member of the African Union Multinational Task Force for the establishment of Africa CDC, which developed the structural, legal and financial blueprint for Africa CDC as demanded by the African Union Heads of State and Government. Before joining the African Union, Dr Aragaw served as advisor to the Minister of Health of Ethiopia on Public Health Emergency Management for more than six years. He played a pivotal role in the operations of various supervisory and advisory mechanisms, supported policy and strategy development, and provided guidance on matters related to public health emergencies. He served as National Coordinator for the Ethiopian Contingency of 187 health professionals who supported the response mission of African Union Support for Ebola Outbreak to West Africa (ASEOWA) in 2014 to 2015. Dr Aragaw is a medical doctor by training and holds a master’s degree in public health specializing in field epidemiology. He has taken several short courses, including infectious disease modelling, disaster risk management and leadership; and has expert skills in surveillance and disease intelligence, public health emergency management, Emergency Operation Center (EOC), and incident management systems.