Dr Nkechi Olalere is the Executive Director of Strategic Purchasing Africa Resource Center (SPARC) and steers SPARC’s vision of empowering countries with knowledge and practical tools to make access to affordable and quality health care a reality for all.

Nkechi has over sixteen years’ experience in health financing implementation. Before joining the development sector, she served as a C-suite executive in various health insurance firms operating the National Health Insurance Scheme and private health insurance plans in Nigeria. She is passionate about strategic purchasing, especially provider payment reforms, several of which she led in the private health insurance space. Nkechi’s experience in the private and public sectors gives her an interesting perspective into health system strengthening.

Nkechi is the chair of Africa Union’s (AU) Tracker sub-committee tasked with developing indicators and measures of progress for ‘More Health for the Money’. This work is an input into the domestic health financing tracker, which will complement the Africa Scorecard on Domestic Financing for Health and enable AU Member States to track progress on domestic financing, including its efficient and effective allocation and use. She has recently been appointed into the newly formed Global Financing Facility Results Advisory Group.