Victor Ajieroh

Victor Ajieroh is a seasoned public policy and development practitioner with over 20 years of progressive cross-sectoral experience in food systems, public health, and nutrition. He has led a $50 million investment portfolio and managed teams overseeing about 22 projects across 16 organizations, leveraging approximately $2 billion in complementary resources. These projects have focused on key economic sectors and subsystems, including Food Systems, Public Health, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Human Capital Development in Nigeria and the broader West Africa region, particularly in Kenya, Tanzania, and Burkina Faso.

Victor has been at the forefront of pioneering innovative models for impactful programming, advocating for new narratives in food systems and nutrition. His leadership in Primary Health Care has been transformative, introducing new governance innovations and contributing to achieving historical compliance levels, increasing access to healthy food for over 100 million Africans, from below 50% to 90%.

He has also managed high-profile engagement platforms, such as the CEO Forum on Large Scale Food Fortification in Nigeria and Kenya, and the subnational Primary Health Care MOU mechanisms in Nigeria. These platforms facilitated the convergence of leaders from business, politics, and philanthropy around critical food systems and public health priorities, which have now been replicated across eight countries.

Victor has provided leadership and support to a cluster of investments and partnerships, including nearly a decade-long senior policy advisory role to Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. His extensive experience also includes serving on the Advisory Group of the Wellcome Trust-funded Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems Initiative and the Steering Committee of the African Academy of Sciences on African Food and Nutrition Priorities. He has represented eminent members of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition and served on the Africa Talent Initiative Advisory Council at the Gates Foundation.

Currently, Victor serves on the boards of the World Vegetable Center, the Access to Nutrition Index, and the Alumni Association of the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance. He holds a Ph.D. from the Public Health Faculty of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and has completed the Advanced Management & Leadership program at the Said Business School, Oxford, as well as the Public Leadership & Policy program at the School of Politics, Policy, & Governance. Victor is a Fellow of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria and an NESG Policy Innovation Center Behavioral Insights Fellow.