Please note that this person no longer works at Nutrition International.

Dr. Abdulaziz Adish is a physician with 27 years experience in public health, working in the areas of primary health care, child immunization, and micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries. He also has expertise in nutritional epidemiology.

Abdulaziz joined Nutrition International as Deputy Regional Director, Africa in July 2008. As Deputy Regional Director, he contributes strategically to the overall planning, management and program decision-making of Nutrition International Africa. He provides technical and operational support to Nutrition International’s National Program Managers in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal to help them develop and implement country strategies that meet the nutrition, health and development needs in their respective countries. Abdulaziz coordinates with Program Managers to monitor and assess each country’s requirements and identify any opportunities for micronutrient malnutrition programming and Nutrition International support. He also helps them develop country plans and budgets that respond to each country’s needs, Nutrition International’s key areas of focus and its five-year Strategic Plan.

He has a PhD in Nutritional Epidemiology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He also has a Masters in Public Health in Primary Health Care from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia (in collaboration with McGill University). He earned his MD from Addis Ababa University.

Prior to joining Nutrition International, Abdulaziz took on the position of Chief of UNICEF’s Nutrition Section in Jakarta and was also the Director of the Canadian Center for Nutrition and Food Security in Harar, Ethiopia. His background includes employment as a General Practitioner and Medical Director at the Axum Hospital in Tigray, Ethiopia and at the Jimma Hospital in Jimma, Illubabor, Ethiopia. He was the Minister of Health for the Illubabor Region and a Specialist in Community Medicine. He worked as an Assistant Professor at the Jimma Institute of Health Sciences in the Nutrition Program and was the Head of the Community and Health Services Training Department.

Abdulaziz’s background also includes working for the Steelworkers Humanity Fund; the International Development Research Centre (IDRC); the Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR); World Vision Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in Ottawa. He has worked as a Medical Officer for WHO South East Asia Regional Office. After that, he was a Guest Lecturer and Professor at the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Abdulaziz has published ten articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, authored more than ten technical reports and presented more than 100 papers related to the planning and implementation of nutrition programs.

Some of Abdulaziz’s key roles and achievements include:

  • Former Assistant Professor and current Adjunct Professor at Jimma University, Institute of Health Sciences and Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia.
  • Member of various WHO Technical Steering Committees and participant in Technical Advisory Meetings.
  • Co-authored a chapter in the Oxford Textbook of Tropical Medicine, a world-renowned medical textbook.
  • Published in several peer-reviewed scientific journals, including the Lancet.
  • Reviewed articles for several local and international nutrition journals, including the Food and Nutrition Bulletin.