Solomon Zewdu

Dr. Solomon Zewdu is Senior Executive Resident for Strategy, Planning and programming at the Mastercard Foundation. Dr. Zewdu recently joined the Mastercard foundation after seven years as a Deputy Director in the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in Africa. Given his background in emergency prepardeness and disaster response, he coordinated the BMGF Pan African SARSCoV2 response during the Covid 19 pandemic and all the related investments for the African continent. He aslo lead the continental team that shapes integrated, resilient and impactful health, nutrition, disease erradication, human capital development programs. He has been the relationship manager for Africa CDC since the establishment of the agency and continues to help shape investments in vaccine, therapeutics and diagnostics manufacturing, and pandemic prepardeness and response and the new public health order in Africa. Throughout his career, he has worked side by side with the public and private sector, ministries of health, education and finance, regional governments, academia, donors and implementers.  He has contributed to various health and human development policies and implementation guidelines; as an active member of several working groups, scientific and programmatic advisory bodies, executive boards and strategy, policy and planning committees. He has gained the respect and appreciation of governments and partners across Africa as well as foreign governments and agencies across the world. Dr. Zewdu has practiced medicine in the private and public sectors, managed large United States Government programs (PEPFAR) and Department of Defense (DoD) HIV/AIDS Prevention program (DHAPP), Philantropy and academic grants for the past 22 years. He is well published and currently serves on multiple boards as well as Scientific and Tecnical advisory groups. He is an outpsoken advocate for impactful, comprehensive and resilient health and livelihood interventions. He has spearheaded multiple initiatives in health, health policies, primary health care and community health that have impacted the continent on a significantly. He shapes multi million dollars programs spanning the full spectrum of human development and poverty alleviation. He has served as the Presidential Airlift Group (PAG) physician and completed a successful military career as a decorated Lieutenant Colonel veteran of the US Airforce which among many other duties placed him as USAF lead response officer in the filed at the pentagon on 9/11 as well as the joint forces medical response team lead in Banda Ache, Indonesia 2004 Tsunami.