Dr. Victor Akelo

Director, Science, Site Strategy and Implementation Unit

Dr. Victor Akelo is a public health expert with over 15 years of experience in clinical and public health practice in infectious disease and maternal and child health. He has a wide range of experience in designing, planning and implementation of disease outbreak, surveillance, monitoring, and evaluation of global health programs – both implementation and clinical trials programs. He has served previously as a Principal Research Officer and Chief of HIV Research Branch with Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Kisumu leading various NIH clinical trials. As a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Senior Public Health Advisor, he supports population-based surveillance work such as Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS), mortality and pregnancy surveillance in western Kenya. He previously served as a CDC COVID-19 response lead in western Kenya – specifically working with a team of CDC scientists to provide technical support to counties in western Kenya and remains a member of Kenya CDC COVID-19 Response team. Dr. Victor is a U.S. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Fellow, and Emory Global Health Foege Fellow. He holds a Master’s in Public Health and medical degree from Emory University and Nairobi University respectively.