Starting in Fall 2013, Duke students will have the opportunity to learn about global health systems from one of the world’s top health policy leaders. Muhammad Pate, former Minister of State for Health of Nigeria, will serve as Visiting Professor at the Duke Global Health Institute. He stepped down as minister earlier this week.
Pate was named Minister of State for Health in 2011 and led the coordination and implementation of the African nation’s primary health care system. He is also credited for Nigeria’s bold efforts to expand vaccinations and access to essential health care services for women and children by 2015 through the ‘Saving One Million Lives’ initiative.
“I am pleased and honored that Dr. Pate has chosen to come back to Duke to share his leadership and vast knowledge of global health with our students,” said Michael Merson, director of the Duke Global Health Institute. “During his tenure as Minister of State for Health, he has made significant advances in the quality and access of health services which has made a lasting impact in his native country.”
Over the next year, Pate, a physician and a graduate of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business, will develop and co-teach a course on Comparative Health Systems with Kevin Schulman, offer guest lectures, mentor undergraduates in the new global health major, and participate in the university-wide Africa Initiative.
"It's a great honor to be able to have Dr. Pate back at Duke,” said Kevin Schulman, professor of medicine and Gregory Mario and Jeremy Mario Professor of Business Administration at Duke University. “He has a unique perspective on the respective roles of the public and private sectors in improving health care access and outcomes. As a result, he has developed in Nigeria some of the most innovative and impactful efforts in global health."
Pate received his medical degree from Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, and has graduate degrees from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Duke University.
