Alumni Profile: Francis Ayomoh
Francis Ayomoh (DPhil Primary Health Care, 2021) has spent his career examining how health systems and policy actors impact and shape the lives of the people they serve. After graduating with a medical degree from the University of Jos, he began his career as a clinician in Nigeria, practising for seven years—including undergoing some training as a resident doctor in Internal Medicine—before shifting his focus to policy, taking a role with the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria. He undertook a master’s in Health Policy, Planning and Financing at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2018. He then returned to the Federal Ministry of Health in 2020, where he was the Deputy Lead of the Healthcare Financing, Equity, and Investments team, supporting policy reforms and strategic investments to advance progress toward universal health coverage in Nigeria.
Francis joined Green Templeton College in 2021, where he pursued doctoral research on task shifting within primary care and its implications for maternal health services in Nigeria. His findings revealed both the promise and limitations of the approach, as well as the ethical dilemma of balancing wider access to healthcare with optimal quality of care. He describes the college as a home that encouraged him to think across disciplines and to look beyond what is visible on the surface. His time within the community, along with the support of his supervisors and the Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, sharpened his understanding of the actors, incentives and practical realities that underlie policy decisions.
At College, Francis coordinated the Oxford Global Health and Care Systems Society from 2001 to 2022, served as Personal and Professional Development Officer in the College Graduate Common Room in 2022 and received a high commendation during the 2022 Green Templeton Nautilus Awards. He is also the Founder and Inaugural President of the Oxford Global Health Society, an interdisciplinary platform that brings together students, researchers, and practitioners across the University of Oxford to engage with pressing global health challenges.
Francis is a Mandela Washington Fellow, Commonwealth Scholar, and recipient of several awards, including the Best Graduating Medical Student Award, the Tony Elumelu Foundation Legacy Prize for Excellence in Medicine, and the prestigious President’s National Honours NYSC Award from the Federal Government of Nigeria, in recognition of his contributions towards improving access to primary healthcare services in rural communities.
With over a decade of professional experience across Africa, Francis has worked in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Liberia, and Uganda, providing technical expertise in healthcare financing, human resources for health, health policy and systems research, maternal and reproductive health, and non-communicable diseases. He has consulted for several international development organisations, including the World Bank and the Global Fund. He has also served as a Fellow of the Missing Billion Initiative, contributing to global efforts to advance disability inclusion and advocacy in health systems.
Today, Francis continues to work for Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health, advising on national policy and supporting health system strengthening initiatives across Nigeria and the wider African region. Alongside this, he remains connected to research at the University of Oxford as an honorary postdoctoral fellow at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. His ambition is to help build primary healthcare systems that are sustainably financed, inclusive, and capable of delivering quality care for the communities that need it most.
