Nick Bertrand Ntahokaja, Ph.D., is the Head of External Affairs at the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)’s Africa Regional Office. He leads IVI’s strategic engagement with African governments, regional and continental institutions, and key partners to advance vaccine access, immunization policy, and the strengthening of African health systems. In his role, he drives partnership development across the African vaccine and global health ecosystem, oversees the Africa Regional Office’s communications strategy, and leads grant proposal development and execution for select Africa-focused initiatives.

Prior to joining IVI, Dr. Ntahokaja served as Senior Advisor on Access and Innovation to the UN Secretary-General, leading voluntary licensing negotiations with multinational pharmaceutical companies and representing the United Nations at the G20 Health Track, the World Health Assembly, and the UN General Assembly.

His broader career spans senior leadership roles across the United Nations system, the African Union Commission, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNIZIMA/Univercells, and public service, championing multilateral health diplomacy, pharmaceutical policy, and African regional health governance, including contributions to the establishment of the Africa Medicines Agency.

Dr. Ntahokaja holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Economics and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies in genomics and global health.