Dr Teguest Guerma

Dr Teguest Guerma, Founder and CEO of LeDeG Midwifery College in Ethiopia, returned to her country after 42 years to pursue her dream of supporting women in Ethiopia. LeDeG midwifery college trains disadvantaged rural girls to become midwives who go back and serve their communities and contribute to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality.
She is the first African woman Director General of AMREF Health Africa serving from June 2010 to December 2015. Prior to joining AMREF, Dr. Teguest was the Associate Director and later the Acting Director of the World Health Organization’s Global HIV and AIDs Department in Geneva Switzerland where she co-led the WHO 3×5 initiative which made Antiretroviral treatment available to developing countries.
Dr. Teguest served as the WHO Africa representative to UN Headquarters in New York, and as WHO representative in Nepal and Botswana. She has also served as the WHO HIV/AIDS Regional adviser for Africa and developed the first HIV AIDS regional Strategy for the continent. She was also Commissioner of the UN Commission on Life-saving Commodities for Women and Children.
Dr. Teguest has received the highest medal of merit from the government of France: Chevalier de l’ordre de la Legion d’honeur.
Dr. Teguest holds a medical Doctorate degree and is a specialist in Infectious Diseases and also a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Health department of the McGill University in Canada and St Paul Millennium Medical College in Ethiopia.
She has also authored an autobiography entitled “let her die”