Dr. Pat Youri

Dr. Pat Youri is a public health physician with more than 25 years of experience in program development and management across Africa. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of the Hope for African Children Initiative in August 2001, Dr. Youri held successive senior level positions at the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF), one the largest African indigenous health organizations dedicated to promoting quality health and service-delivery for all Africans. Dr. Youri has a strong technical, operational and policy background in sexual and reproductive health, specifically HIV/AIDS and family planning, adolescent health, and maternal and child health.

In the ten years of service he spent with AMREF, Dr. Youri's leadership and technical knowledge have contributed to expanding the work of the organization in different regions of Africa. His vision and strategic approach to international health enabled him to leverage AMREF's experience to successfully influence the health policies and practices of governments, bilateral and multilateral donor organizations, civil society organizations, as well as those of the private sector. As Director of Programs for AMREF, Dr. Youri was responsible for exercising overall leadership and providing technical support to develop and strengthen all program areas. His extensive knowledge of conducting situation analysis, needs assessments, program design, monitoring and evaluation have been instrumental in developing new programs and ensuring a quality approach.

Throughout his career Dr. Youri has worked with many institutional, bi-lateral and multilateral donors. He has extensive experience being a high-level fundraiser and managing large budgets. As Director of AMREF's Community Health Department, Dr. Youri was responsible for overseeing 150 health professionals working in East and South Africa, and managed an annual budget of more than US$ 15 million. After graduating from the University of Ghana Medical School and working for the Ministry of Health in his native Ghana, Dr. Youri completed a Master degree of Public Health at Harvard University. He later earned a degree in pediatrics at the Royal College of Physicians in London and practiced medicine in the United Kingdom for five years. In 1986 Dr. Youri moved to Nairobi, Kenya and began his tenure with AMREF.