Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet is President and CEO of Vital Strategies, a global public health organization that partners with governments and other stakeholders to advance long-term solutions for the growing burden of non-communicable disease and injury. She leads a team of over 400 individuals working in 80+ countries to ensure that everyone, everywhere, is protected by equitable and effective public health systems. Today, more than 3.3 billion people worldwide are covered by public health policies that Vital Strategies helped achieve.
A recognized global health innovator and leader in health equity, Dr. Etiebet previously served as the Lead and Executive Director of Merck for Mothers, Merck’s $650M global health initiative created to help end preventable maternal deaths. Under her leadership, Merck for Mothers increased access to high-quality and respectful maternal health care for more than 50 million women in more than 70 countries. Dr. Etiebet later served as Merck’s Associate Vice President for Health Equity, developing the company’s first enterprise-wide health equity strategy, developing partnerships to improve health outcomes for underserved communities, and driving efforts to increase access to health in low- and middle-income countries.
Dr. Etiebet began her career as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Disease at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she led the development of their PEPFAR-supported HIV/AIDS public health and clinical service delivery programs that reached over 70,000 people across Nigeria. Later, at New York City Health and Hospitals, she was responsible for implementing Medicaid and Medicare delivery systems and value-based payment reforms.
Dr. Etiebet earned her M.D. and MBA from Yale University. She completed her medical training at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell and New York Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center, becoming board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. She is a member of the Board of Directors at the Center for Global Development. She has also served on numerous global health advisory councils, including the World Bank’s Global Financing Facility Investors Group, the World Health Organization’s Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, the United Nations Population Fund High-Level Commission, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council.