
Dr.Tegbar Yigzaw
Dr Tegbar Yigzaw is a physician, public health specialist and human resource for health (HRH) expert with more than 18 years of work experience with Ethiopia’s heath and higher education systems.His experience gives him a robust understanding of the health system and medical education system.For close to 13 years, he led Jhpiego’s health workforce programs taking on greater responsibilities over the years. At present, he is the Chief of Party for USAID’s Health Workforce Improvement Program at Jhpiego. Between 2012 and 2019, he served as the Technical Director for the USAID-funded Strengthening Human Resources for Health Project at Jhpiego.
Among other contributions, he supported the Government of Ethiopia to: develop a national HRH strategic plan; strengthen accreditation systems; establish national licensing examinations; reform curricula; strengthen internal quality assurance systems in higher education institutions; design and roll out faculty development programs; standardize and institutionalize in-service training and continuing professional development systems; and generate HRH research and evidence.
He also has 18 years of experience with Ethiopia’s higher education system as an educator, leader, advisor and resource person. He was formerly an Assistant Professor of Public Health and Head of the School of Public Health at University of Gondar. At present, he is an adjunct faculty at Jimma University, teaching and advising postgraduate health professions education students. He supervises PhD students enrolled in LMU, Germany, Groningen, Netherlands and Haramoya university, Ethiopia. He is a member of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education Advisory Council and also advises Debre Tabor University, which follows an innovative curricula.
He is the president of the Ethiopian Medical Association, board member of the Ethiopian Public Health Association, deputy chair of Eastern Africa Health Professions Educators Association, and Ethiopian representative of the Network Towards Unity for Health. Dr Tegbar currently chairs the COVID-19 Advisory Council, which is established by about a dozen health professional associations to support national efforts to prevent and control the epidemic.
Dr. Tegbar Yigzaw received an MD from Jimma University in 2001, MPH from Addis Ababa University in 2005, International Fellowship in medical education from FAIMER Institute, USA, in 2011 and PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 2017.