Appointed Director

Caroline Wesonga Wangamati, MSc, MA, BCom, is the team lead for the Coalition of Blood for Africa (COBA), a private sector-led coalition advocating for the prioritization of the blood ecosystem in African health systems to improve domestic resource mobilization, availability, safety and adequacy of blood and blood products. Wangamati is also a blood ambassador for Kenya.

Wangamati is a vocal blood champion for blood at the grassroots level, as well as on national and global platforms. She served as First Lady for Bungoma County in Kenya and used the platform to mobilize blood drives and amplify the importance of blood in Kenya.

She is involved in two Harvard-led research programs. The first of these is the Blood D.E.S.E.R.T. Coalition, which is looking into innovative strategies to avail blood in blood deserts in LMICs with a focus on autotransfusion, civilian walking blood banks and delivery by drone technology. She is also involved in the LIFEBlood study in Turkana County in Kenya.

Caroline holds a master of science degree in health economics and policy from the London School of Economics and an master of arts degree in public policy from the University of Chicago. She also holds a bachelor of arts degree in commerce.