We help health systems prepare, deliver and improve
Forward Health advises on health security, delivers donor-funded programmes and helps healthcare providers meet international quality standards. This is who we are and how we work.
Our story
Forward Health brings together work that is usually split between different organisations: advising on what a health system needs, delivering the programmes that build it, and making sure care meets international standards.
Our founder, Dr Emmanuel Agogo, has done all three. Over more than 25 years he has helped build Nigeria's national public health institute, set up a country office from its first hire, directed a global diagnostics portfolio and advised ministries and regional bodies across West Africa.
“Standards into care. Care into outcomes.”
Forward Health puts that experience to work for governments, donors, NGOs and healthcare providers. We start in West Africa and work with partners across Africa, South Asia and Europe.
- Based in
- Abuja, Nigeria and Birmingham, UK
- Services
- Advisory, programmes and quality standards
- Led by
- Dr Emmanuel Agogo, Founder and CEO
What drives us
Our purpose
To help health systems prevent and respond to health threats, deliver programmes that work and give every patient safe, high-quality care.
Our vision
A healthier, fairer world where every country is ready for the next health threat and every patient receives care that meets international standards.
Our mission
To turn policy, funding and global standards into measurable results by advising governments and donors, designing and delivering programmes, and helping providers meet quality standards.
Our values
Seven commitments that shape how we advise, deliver and measure our work.
People first
Patients, communities and health workers are the reason for every recommendation we make.
Integrity
We give honest advice, report results as they are and handle donor funds with care.
Quality
We hold our own work to the standards we help others meet.
Innovation
We look for practical new tools, from diagnostics to digital data, that fit local realities.
Collaboration
We work alongside governments, partners and local teams, not around them.
Equity
We focus effort where the gaps in access and quality are widest.
Sustainable impact
We build systems and skills that last after a programme ends.
How we work
The same four steps apply whether we are writing a national plan, running a programme or preparing a hospital for ISO 7101.
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Understand
We start with your context: the policy environment, the funding, the people and the data.
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Design
We shape a plan or programme with clear goals, a realistic budget and the standards it must meet.
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Deliver
We put it into practice alongside your teams, managing partners, money and risk.
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Measure and learn
We track results against agreed indicators and adjust, so progress can be shown to funders and communities.
Dr Emmanuel Agogo
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
MBBS, MTropMed, MSc, FRCGP, HonMFPH, MIoD
Dr Emmanuel Agogo is a physician and global health executive with more than 25 years of leadership across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the United Kingdom. He trained in medicine at the University of Ibadan and in tropical medicine at the University of Liverpool, and practised as a general practitioner in the NHS before moving into national public health leadership in Nigeria.
He helped build the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control during its early growth, led Resolve to Save Lives in Nigeria and directed pandemic diagnostics at FIND. He has served as a WHO-engaged evaluator on Joint External Evaluations in South Africa, The Gambia and Seychelles, and is Secretary General of the Technical Advisory Committee at the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Disease Surveillance and Control.
Across his career he has helped mobilise more than $750M in donor funding and published more than 45 peer-reviewed papers. Forward Health brings that experience together in one place: advice, programme delivery and quality standards.
Career and credentials
Career
-
2025 to now
Secretary General, Technical Advisory Committee
ECOWAS Regional Centre for Disease Surveillance and Control, Abuja
Coordinates the committee that advises the Executive Director on cross-border health threats, antimicrobial resistance and laboratory networks.
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2025 to now
Strategic and technical adviser
Independent practice, Abuja
Advises the World Bank Health Security Project in Cabo Verde, Liberia and Guinea, and works with WAHO, WOAH, MSH and eHealth Africa.
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2023 to 2026
Director, Pandemic Threats
FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, Geneva
Led a $27M+ diagnostics portfolio across seven countries, secured $28M in new funding from EU HERA, KOICA and CEPI, and co-chaired the diagnostics pillar of the WHO Interim Medical Countermeasures Network during the 2024 mpox emergency.
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2020 to 2023
Country Director
Resolve to Save Lives, Vital Strategies, Abuja
Built the Nigeria office from its first hire to 15 staff with 95% retention, managed a $5M annual budget at 98% execution and helped secure national trans-fat regulation in 2022.
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2016 to 2019
Deputy Director, Programme Coordination
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Abuja
Oversaw a $130M+ multi-donor portfolio, helped establish a BSL-2 national reference laboratory and led Nigeria's first Joint External Evaluation and National Action Plan for Health Security.
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2014 to 2016
Assistant Director, Technical Manager
National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Abuja
Supervised sub-recipients on a $150M Global Fund portfolio and led the rollout of 185 GeneXpert diagnostic platforms across 36 states.
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2011 to 2013
Practice Management Lead and Physician
National Health Service, Birmingham
Led clinical services, quality improvement and people functions for an inner-city practice, reaching top-quartile performance on national quality metrics.
Education
- MSc, Primary and Community HealthUniversity of Birmingham, 2017
- Postgraduate Certificate, Medical LeadershipKeele University, 2010
- MSc, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases (Distinction)University of Liverpool, 2004
- MBBS, Medicine and SurgeryUniversity of Ibadan, 1999
- Diploma, Obstetrics and GynaecologyRoyal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
- Certificate of Completion of Training, General PracticeUK Postgraduate Medical Education
Professional memberships
- Fellow, Royal College of General PractitionersFRCGP, 2015
- Honorary Member, UK Faculty of Public HealthHonMFPH, 2023
- Member, Institute of DirectorsMIoD, 2025
Fellowships and leadership development
- Global Leadership FellowshipCenter for Strategic and International Studies, 2022
- Kofi Annan Public Health Leadership FellowshipAfrica CDC, 2021
- Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity FellowshipJohns Hopkins Center for Health Security, 2019
- Strategic Innovation for Community HealthJohnson & Johnson and INSEAD, 2017
- Health and Human RightsHarvard School of Public Health, 2014
Languages
- EnglishFluent
- FrenchWorking knowledge
Board and governance roles
Selected publications
- Africa's response to COVID-19Ihekweazu C, Agogo E. BMC Medicine, 2020
- Africa needs more genome sequencing to tackle new variants of SARS-CoV-2Otu A, Agogo E, Ebenso B. Nature Medicine, 2021
- In critical condition: the urgent need to support mpox therapeutic and diagnostic pipelinesPerez Casas C, et al. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2025
- Development of a subnational health security capacities assessment toolDanjuma JS, et al. Health Security, 2025
- Landscape analysis of Lassa virus diagnostic testsMazzola L, et al. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2026
- Joint External Evaluation of IHR core capacities: South Africa, The Gambia and SeychellesWorld Health Organization, 2017 to 2018
Why clients work with us
Each of these is backed by the record set out above.
Trusted by governments
Two decades working with ministers of health, national public health institutes and regional bodies across West Africa.
Experienced in delivery
Donor portfolios of $130M+ and $150M+ overseen, and a country office run at 98% budget execution.
Grounded in evidence
More than 45 peer-reviewed publications and WHO evaluation experience inform every recommendation.
Built on standards
IHR (2005), donor compliance frameworks and international quality standards shape how we work.
Let's talk about your work
Start with a 30-minute introductory call. We will listen, then point you to the service that fits.