Zana C. Somda, PhD, has more than 20 years of international development experience in the fields of agriculture and health systems strengthening, with a focus on health financing, costing, cost-effectiveness studies, economic evaluation, and monitoring and evaluation, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In his role at MSH, he guides and supports business development and program implementation with a focus on health systems strengthening; health financing; pharmaceutical economics; and health technology assessment, training, and capacity building in support of project activities and deliverables.
Prior to joining MSH, he served as a technical lead for project teams helping public health and policy leaders identify and implement cost-effective and efficient initiatives in health policy planning and financing to strengthen and scale-up their disease surveillance systems and other public health responses, such as for HIV/AIDS, family planning, and reproductive health programs, in Burkina Faso, Botswana, Eritrea, Ghana, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, and other African countries. He is fluent in French, English, and several African native languages.