Mesfin Teklu Tessema, MD, MA
- Adjunct Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health
Overview
Dr. Mesfin Teklu Tessema serves as the Head of the Health Unit at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), where he leads IRC’s efforts in diverse areas of health programming and policy. With over 25 years of experience in public health, nutrition, and humanitarian affairs, he brings a wealth of expertise to his role.
Prior to joining the IRC in 2017, he held significant leadership positions with international humanitarian organizations. Most notably he served as the global health lead for World Vision International and, concurrently, as the Director of the Geneva office for World Vision International. Additionally, he worked as a Senior Nutritionist for Save the Children. As a medical doctor, he practiced medicine in public and private healthcare settings in Ethiopia.
Currently, he holds the position of Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University and is affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Humanitarian Health.
Dr. Tessema is an active contributor to Global Health Initiatives, having served on the Gavi Vaccine Alliance Partnership Team, COVAX leadership group, the funding committee for Elrha’s Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises, and as an Investors Group member of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) for Women, Children and Adolescents. He is the founder and former co-director of the executive course on health diplomacy and humanitarian space at the Graduate Institute of Geneva. Moreover, he is the author of the health chapter in the 2011 edition of the Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response.
Dr Tessema earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Jimma University in Ethiopia and holds a Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance from Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA.
Prior to joining the IRC in 2017, he held significant leadership positions with international humanitarian organizations. Most notably he served as the global health lead for World Vision International and, concurrently, as the Director of the Geneva office for World Vision International. Additionally, he worked as a Senior Nutritionist for Save the Children. As a medical doctor, he practiced medicine in public and private healthcare settings in Ethiopia.
Currently, he holds the position of Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University and is affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Humanitarian Health.
Dr. Tessema is an active contributor to Global Health Initiatives, having served on the Gavi Vaccine Alliance Partnership Team, COVAX leadership group, the funding committee for Elrha’s Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises, and as an Investors Group member of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) for Women, Children and Adolescents. He is the founder and former co-director of the executive course on health diplomacy and humanitarian space at the Graduate Institute of Geneva. Moreover, he is the author of the health chapter in the 2011 edition of the Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response.
Dr Tessema earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Jimma University in Ethiopia and holds a Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance from Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA.
Academic Appointments
- Adjunct Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health
Credentials & Experience
Committees, Societies, Councils
Strategic Advisor to the World Health Organization Foundation
Editorial Boards
International Advisory Board, Christian Journal for Global Health
Research
Selected Publications
David Miliband, Mesfin Teklu Tessema, the unmet needs of refugees and internally displaced People. The UCL-Lancet Commission on Migration and Health: the health of a world on the move. Lancet. 2018 (Published online December 5) https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32780-6
Book Chapter: Minimum Standards in Health Action, the Sphere Project, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response (2011 edition) https://spherestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Sphere_Handbook_2011_English.pdf
Global Health Activities
Dr. Tessema is an active contributor to Global Health Initiatives, having served on the Gavi Vaccine Alliance Partnership Team, COVAX leadership group, the funding committee for Elrha’s Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises, an Investors Group member of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) for Women, Children and Adolescents, a member of the reference group for the evaluation of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), and as an advisory board member for the World Innovation Summit for Health Qatar 2018. He currently, co-chairs the steering committee for building a consensus-based research agenda for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in humanitarian settings for the next decade.