Senior Country Director
Dr. Mengistu Asnake is a public health specialist with more than 35 years of experience in reproductive health, primary health care, child survival, community health services, program management, training, operational research, and clinical service delivery.
I addition to serving as Ethiopia’s Senior Country Director, Dr. Asnake is the Cluster Lead for Institutional Partnership for the Africa region and a member of the Global Leadership Council. Mengistu joined Pathfinder in 1999 and served as Acting Country Representative and Deputy Country Representative during a critical transition period for the organization. He served as Chief of Party in two large USAID Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (RMNCH) projects: the Integrated Family Health Program (IFHP), 2008-2016, and the Transform Primary Health Care activity (TPHC), 2017-2022. In both projects, he worked to strengthen Ethiopia’s Health System through primary health care activities and working very closely with the Ministry of Health at all levels.
Prior to joining Pathfinder, Mengistu worked at various levels of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health. Since 2012, he has served the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) in several roles – as a vice president, president, and member of the advisory board. He previously served as the president of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (2006-2009).
Dr. Asnake has an MD at Gondar College of Medical Sciences at Addis Ababa University and an MPH at Addis Ababa University. Mengistu speaks Amharic and English.