Vincent R. Okungu

A senior Health Economist specializing in quantitative and qualitative health financing, fiscal space and microsimulation modeling, cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis, public financial management, and domestic resource mobilization for UHC and R&D. I lead multi country empirical studies and technical advisory engagements, develop and deploy economic models for disease and vaccine program costing, perform health expenditure tracking and sustainability analyses, and design PFM reforms to link budgets to health outcomes. I serve on WHO and AU/NEPAD technical panels, sit on editorial boards, publish methodological and policy work on financing mechanisms, access and quality of care, and mentor researchers in applied health economic methods and evaluation.

I introduced a UHC financing framework in Kenya; improved the potential of domestic mobilization of resources and planning health expenditure using the cost model and sustainability plan (Kenya & Rwanda); co-authored and produced a comprehensive global report on care quality improvements; improved budget allocation, execution and reporting through the design and implementation of PBB (Kenya & Uganda) and costed the benefit package for neglected tropical diseases. I have been engaged by UN teams to develop a learning agenda to inform innovative financing mechanisms to bridge the financial gap in adolescent sexual and reproductive health services, and developed innovative financing frameworks for MOH-Kenya.

Senior Research Fellow - University of Nairobi - Kenya

(2018-01)

Key Achievements

• Improved thought leadership on sustainable domestic financing for research & development (R&D) in Africa by leading a high-level African Union panel discussion at an AU summit in Addis Ababa
• Improved national investments in R&D by convening the first-ever regional conference on domestic resource mobilization for R&D financing
• Developed the first social contracting framework for the Ministry of Health (Kenya) to guide primary health investments
• Authored several policy-relevant peer-reviewed articles and policy briefs for immediate programmatic action by ministries of health in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Ethiopia
• Authored policy reviews to inform pandemic preparedness for the Africa CDC
• Advised the Ministry of Health (Kenya) on innovative financing for adolescent sexual & reproductive health, leading to successful pilot program implementation
• Shaped scientific output as an Editorial Board Member/ Academic Editor for PLOS ONE & Frontiers Journal
• Shaped continental policy on health and R&D investments as a member of the drafting committee for STISA34 (AUDA/NEPAD)
• Member of the Advisory Panel of Experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) to shape the policy and financing of organ donations & transplantation
• Produced three collaborative research and teaching agreements between the employer and external partners

Senior Advisor (Health Financing) - END Fund - Seven countries in Africa

(2021-06 - 2026-06)

Key Achievements

• Improved the financing of neglected tropical diseases, leading to >40-fold increase in budget allocations to NTDs in Kenya
• Increased NTD prioritization in government expenditure planning by institutionalizing these diseases in the health sector development plans
• Strengthened health policy by assessing and bridging policy gaps for NTDs
• Mentored senior government and NGO officials on budget advocacy, leading to improved budget efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in health spending
• Improved program-based budgeting for NTDs by linking expenditure to health outputs
• Institutionalized health expenditure tracking for NTDs into the National Health Accounts in Kenya and Ethiopia, leading to better expenditure reporting and policy decision-making
• Convened multi-sectoral stakeholders to discuss budget-making processes, accountability, and reporting to improve oversight of NTD expenditures
• Convened five stakeholder peer learning workshops on PFM to strengthen the capacity of the link between health sector reforms and financing models, including government funding, public insurance, and strategic purchasing
• Published policy-relevant peer-reviewed articles and policy briefs on sustainable financing and resource mobilization
• Improved the sustainability of NTD financing in Kenya by designing and costing the benefit package, integrating it into the national UHC package

Lecturer - Strathmore University, Institute of Healthcare Management - Nairobi, Kenya

(2015-01 - 2017-12)

Key Achievements

• Improved budgetary governance, health insurance coverage effectiveness through strategic planning, costing, policy formulation, and domestic resource mobilization for UHC
• Estimated the cost of UHC in Kenya using two financing models to offer alternative scenarios for decision-making among policymakers
• Assessed the sustainability of Rwanda's community health insurance scheme and offered alternative financing scenarios for the national health insurance system
• Visiting Professor, Duke University- teaching on sustainable microinsurance financing
• Shaped global policy on quality of care and UHC financing
• Reformed the research methods course, leading to improved graduation rates
• Authored an award-winning paper on the quality, affordability, and pricing of pharmaceuticals in a low-resource setting, which contributed to increased regulatory vigilance on the quality of medicines
• Produced a global report that guides reforms to improve care quality across the globe
• Raised awareness and increased investments in the care of cancer patients

Visiting Professor - Duke University - United States

(2017-01 - 2017-12)

Research Officer - Kenya Medical Research Institute/Wellcome Trust - Kilifi & Nairobi, Kenya

(2006-01 - 2015-12)

Key Achievements

• Wellcome Trust PhD Fellowship
• Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) Master's scholarship
• Immensely contributed in identifying the modalities of providing health insurance coverage to the informal sector by assessing the income potential and preferred UHC models
• Contributed to the global knowledge on health systems reforms, PFM, and health outcomes through several peer-reviewed publications
• Developed a financial model, including forms of taxation employed to expand the fiscal space for healthcare, and strategies to encourage participation in prepaid healthcare for sustainable financing of universal health coverage (UHC) in Kenya
• Provided policy options for the operationalization of UHC in Kenya by shaping robust economic models and executing sustainability programs; e.g., the project drove circa USD $200m in investments for UHC in Kenya through evidence-based cost estimates and sustainable finance design

Research Officer - Kenya Medical Research Institute-CDC - Kisumu, Kenya

(2003-01 - 2005-12)

Key Achievements

• Successfully implemented the first major baseline assessment of HIV prevalence in Siaya

PhD - Health Economics - University of Cape Town (2011-01 - 2014-12)

MPH - Health Economics - University of Cape Town (2008-01 - 2010-12)

MA - Anthropology - University of Nairobi (2000-01 - 2003-12)

Certificate - AI/Health Economics - Johns Hopkins University (2026-04 - 2026-10)

Certificate - Health Economics - York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) (2023-01 - 2023-12)

Certificate - Public Financial Management - Kenya School of Government (2015-01 - 2015-12)