Sofiat Akinola

Director, Health Policy and External Affairs, Roche

Sofiat Akinola is the Director of Health Policy and External Affairs at Roche Diagnostics, where she drives global stakeholder engagement and policy analysis to transform disease prevention, diagnosis, and health system resilience. Her focus areas include cervical cancer policy, strengthening laboratory systems, and advancing universal health coverage.

Previously, Sofiat served as Global Health Lead at the World Economic Forum, managing portfolios on Value-Based Healthcare, Universal Health Coverage, and Healthy Ageing and Longevity. She led the Global Future Council on Healthy Ageing and Longevity, fostering collaboration among businesses, governments, civil society, and experts to shape the global agenda and develop solutions that extend healthy life expectancy.

Sofiat's career began in the NGO and government sectors, where she specialized in monitoring and evaluation to support initiatives such as the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Initiative and efforts to end homelessness in Alberta, Canada.

She holds two Master's degrees: an MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation from the University of Oxford and an MPH from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She also earned a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from McGill University, focusing on Gender, Health, and International Development.

Updated: September 2024