Dr Mekdes Daba

Dr. Daba is a respected clinician and public health leader with over 15 years of experience in reproductive health and medical education. She has served in a number of senior roles, including as Team Lead at the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva and as Managing Director of the Center for International Reproductive Health and Training (CIRHT) Africa.

She was the first woman in Ethiopia to qualify as a sub-specialist in family planning and reproductive health and has worked extensively to improve access to care and strengthen clinical training. Her leadership roles include serving as Country Representative for the East, Central, and Southern African College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ECSACOG), and as Head of the School of Medicine and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hawassa University.

Dr. Daba has also contributed to national and international advisory groups. She chaired the Civil Society Advisory Group for UN Women Ethiopia and has been an active member of technical committees, including WHO/AFRO’s RMNCAH advisory group and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics committee on Reproductive Medicine, Endocrinology, and Infertility.

She earned her medical degree from Hawassa University and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Addis Ababa University.