Tessie San Martin Visits Nigeria
The CEO of Family Health International (FHI 360), Tessie San Martin, visited Nigeria to engage stakeholders in FHI 360’s global strategic direction, promoting collaborations and partnerships in the context of localization and locally led development agendas. Dr. Tessie San Martin arrived in Nigeria on Monday, July 8th, warmly received by the senior management staff of FHI 360 Nigeria.
On Tuesday, July 9th, Dr. Tessie attended a pre-meeting briefing with project leads at the FHI 360 Nigeria Country Office. The meeting commenced with an opening address by Dr. Victor Ogbodo, Project Director (A&T) and Country Representative for FHI 360 Nigeria. Dr. Ogbodo warmly welcomed Dr. Tessie and expressed gratitude for her presence, acknowledging FHI 360’s pivotal role in addressing challenges in Nigeria.
The briefing continued with presentations from various project leads, each providing an overview and status update of their respective projects, ensuring Dr. Tessie was fully informed on the current progress and achievements within the FHI 360 Nigeria portfolio.
Following the briefing, Dr. Tessie paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Health and Social Welfare. The meeting was attended by the Permanent Secretary, Kachollom Daju, mni, Special Advisor Dr. Emmanuel Odo, Director of Family Health Dr. Binyeran Ukare, and Technical Advisor to the Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health.
Dr. San Martin was accompanied by Dr. Victor Ogbodo, Dr. Robert Chiegil, Ngozi Ezema, Director Program Operations, Dr Hadiza Khamofu, Project Director (EpiC Nigeria), Dr Sunny Philips, Director of Technical Services, and other management staff of FHI 360 Nigeria. The purpose of the visit was to discuss how FHI 360 can improve and adapt its strategies in light of its evolving role.
Dr. Chiegil provided a brief history of FHI 360’s work in Nigeria, highlighting its initial focus on reproductive health and HIV, and its ongoing efforts in health systems strengthening. This visit emphasized FHI 360’s commitment to aligning with national priorities and enhancing its impact in the health sector.
The Permanent Secretary mentioned the ongoing training of 120,000 frontline workers and efforts to restore primary health care to its mandate. Dr. Daju also expressed her interest in digitization and emphasized the ministry’s reliance on donors and openness to more collaborations.
After visiting the Federal Ministry of Health, the CEO had a productive virtual meeting with Trond Jenson, Head of Office in Nigeria at the United Nations OCHA. This discussion underscored the strong relationship between FHI 360 and UNOCHA, focusing on collaborative efforts to address humanitarian issues.
This collaboration aims to develop solutions that meet urgent needs and restore long-term, lifesaving services for communities affected by instability, emergencies, or violent conflict.
This partnership highlights our shared commitment to creating sustainable and impactful humanitarian responses.
On Wednesday, July 10th, Dr. Tessie San Martin, accompanied by Dr. Victor Ogbodo, Dr. Robert Chiegil, and other senior management staff of FHI 360 Nigeria, met with key representatives from DAI Nigeria. The attendees from DAI Nigeria included the Head of the Project Management Unit, Project Manager Virtuous Igbodika, Senior Manager of Operations and Administration Tosin Adeyanju, and Finance Director Pelumi Joseph.
Virtuous Igbodika provided an overview of DAI’s scope, emphasizing localization and the alumni network of current and former DAI staff to leverage networks for effective project delivery. Tosin Adeyanju discussed the country platform designed to harmonize travel, logistics, security, procurement, and IT coordination. Pelumi Joseph gave an overview of customer satisfaction, business partnering, resource allocation, risk management, and tax laws.
Dr. Tessie San Martin discussed FHI 360’s strategy, highlighting that DAI was one of the first in the industry to make significant investments in the UK. She sought the team’s perspective on FHI 360’s performance in Nigeria and discussed aligning the partnership with the new IMPACT strategy and sustainability impact framework, emphasizing local ownership.
Feedback on the PLANE project in Nigeria was provided, with the Head of the Project Management Unit expressing immense satisfaction with the partnership. She explained that FHI 360 is evolving by repurposing over time and establishing clear roles, as projects are now implemented locally.
On Thursday, July 11th, Dr. Tessie San Martin met with the AHNI leadership.
Dr. Robert provided an overview of AHNI’s inception in 2009. Dr. San Martin expressed her gratitude to the team for their time and discussed the new strategy focused on achieving maximum impact. She highlighted the evolving operating environment since FHI 360’s establishment, emphasizing the need for re-strategizing to meet current challenges and opportunities.
Dr. Victor Ogbodo expressed FHI 360’s desire to see AHNI rise as one of the strongest local organizations in Nigeria and appreciated Tessie for making Nigeria count.
Later that day, the CEO, Dr Tessie, alongside Dr. Victor Ogbodo, Dr. Robert Chiegil, and other senior management staff of FHI 360 Nigeria, paid a courtesy visit to Dr. Salma Anas, the Special Adviser to the President on Health. The visit was to foster collaboration, discuss future endeavors, align agendas, and explore potential areas of synergy between FHI 360 and the healthcare priorities of the Presidency.
A town hall meeting with FHI 360 Country Staff was held. After introductions, Dr.Tessie provided insights into how strategies thrive, emphasizing that they thrive from the country office level and serve as a guide. She commended efforts in localization and spoke on strategic visions for diversification.
Dr. San Martin underscored the importance of focusing on key areas such as mental health and climate change, encouraging the team to think broadly beyond individual projects to create greater impact. During the Q&A session, she addressed concerns regarding career progression, maternity leave, diversification, finance, and operations.
As this marks her last activity with the team in Nigeria, Dr. San Martin concluded with heartfelt thanks to everyone for the warm welcome, their dedication and hard work, expressing confidence in the team’s ability to drive forward FHI 360’s mission and make a meaningful difference in the lives of Nigerians.