President William Ruto on Tuesday September 27, 2022, named his cabinet and among the names which came as a shock to Kenyans is Susan Nakhumicha Wafula who was nominated to the Ministry of Health as Cabinet secretary.
Who is Susan Nakhumicha Wafula?
Susan Nakhumicha Wafula is a strategic and seasoned supply chain professional with more than 15 years of global and multicultural experience in Agile and Intelligent Supply Chain and Operations in the healthcare industry.
She has an excellent track record of providing an optimized, cognitive, seamless and globally integrated End to End Supply Chain solution.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she leverage in-depth understanding of policies and procedures in the procurement of commodities and effecting cost controls.
Susan Nakhumicha Wafula’s Education
She has a Diploma in Pharmacy from Kenya Medical Training Institute (KMTC) and another Diploma in Healthcare Management from Kenya Institute of Management.
In 2012, she matriculated at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) for a Masters in Procurement and Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
After the programme, she interned at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA). Wafula also hold a PhD in Business Management, Logistics and Supply Chain from JKUAT
Susan Nakhumicha Wafula’s Career
- Extensive experience of working under various donor guidelines like UCSF, USAID and Global Programs.
- Procurement Expertise: Pharmaceuticals including medicines against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria | HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria supply management including development of Procurement and Supply Management (PSM) plans in compliance with GF and other donor requirements.
- Experience in procurement of medical equipment and devices, Stationery, Printing works, logistics/transport services and consulting services.
- Experienced in delivery of transactional and procurement advisory services to public and private sector clients
- Developed Procurement manual for Global Programs.
- Digitized tender management at Global Programs.
- During the 2022 general elections, she unsuccessfully vied for the position of the Trans Nzoia County woman representative under a Ford Kenya ticket.
Prior to her appointment to President Ruto’s government, she served as Head of Supply for University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Global Program for Research and Training.
The UCSF partners with health stakeholders in solving the challenges of infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.
She previously served as the procurement and logistics at the Nairobi Women’s Hospital. Between 2007 and 2013, she worked as the purchasing manager of the Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies.
She had also served as the Warehouse Operations Officer at the same Organization between 2007 and 2009.
Between September 2006 and August 2007, she served at AAR Healthcare Limited as the Parmacy In-charge Kisumu branch.
Susan Nakhumicha Wafula’s Specialities
- Local and Foreign logistics
- Business Transformation Management
- Process & Controls formulation & Improvement
- Supplier Relationship Management
- Supplier Performance
- Strategic Sourcing and Planning
- Assets Management
- People & Performance Management