Oluwatosin (Tosin) Omole (2012 - 2013)

Nigeria

Oluwatosin (Tosin) was born in France and grew up in Nigeria. There, widespread poverty and inadequate health services made a deep impression on him at a young age and prompted him to study medicine and dedicate his life to improving the health of the world’s most vulnerable people.

He obtained his medical degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) from Harvard University. Tosin has practiced medicine in Nigeria, was the co-editor of the African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practices Handbook and is the author of several articles in the areas of HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, and Improving Access to Health. His experiences working as a medical doctor in both extremes of the Nigerian healthcare industry influenced his work on health insurance options for developing countries, which was featured in an anthology published by the Global Forum for Health Research and The Lancet. He also serves as a consultant to the Global Pact for African Health and Development Foundation.

Tosin was most recently a fellow at the Harvard Global Health Institute and is a member of several professional societies, including the Nigerian Medical Association, the American Public Health Association and the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He has received several national and international awards including the Centre for Social Policy Award, the Institute for Public Policy Analysis Award, the Baobab for Women’s Human Rights Award, and honorable mentions from the International AIDS Society, the Goi Peace Foundation and the World Bank.

Since serving as a prefect in his high school, Oluwatosin has held leadership positions in a number of organizations. For two years, he was the African Regional Assistant on HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health for the International Federation of Medical Students Associations and also the President of the Campus Health and Rights Initiative. He also recently served as a member of the Harvard Graduate Council.

Tosin has shown great commitment to community service. Among many other others, he has volunteered with the Beth Tzadekah Foundation, the Well Woman Clinic Initiative, Baobab for Women’s Human Rights and Amnesty International.
Oluwatosin wants to use public health tools to create new healthcare delivery systems that work, and that thus solve pressing health challenges in the developing world. He states that “my benchmark for a successful career would be my ability to drive policies and interventions, especially as concerns health insurance, access to health, health system reform and private sector health care investments.”

As a Sauvé Scholar, Tosin will critically examine how mobile phones and other new technologies can improve access to care for the world’s disadvantaged populations, taking Nigeria as a point of departure. His project seeks to expand opportunities and to strengthen options for the healthcare of poor and vulnerable people, especially women and children. The project also seeks to ensure that globalization's healthcare benefits are more widely shared through the use of mobile phones.
Oluwatosin enjoys playing the piano, listening to inspirational music, travelling, reading biographies, novels and business publications – and he loves playing football!

Country of origin

Nigeria

Country of Residence

Nigeria