Yacine Djibo

Founder & Executive Director

Yacine Djibo founded Speak Up Africa in 2011 with one goal in mind: to discover and implement effective, sustainable solutions to the most challenging problems facing the African people. Focusing on strategic communications, policy and advocacy, Speak Up Africa is dedicated to empowering African leaders and citizens to take on issues such as malaria, neglected tropical diseases and sanitation in order to save and improve lives.

Previously, Yacine worked as the Senegal country director for Malaria No More, where she developed and managed several high-profile national programs to promote malaria prevention and treatment. She built and maintained relationships with national and local government officials; designed and oversaw the distribution of lifesaving commodities countrywide; and cultivated partnerships with private-sector companies, media outlets, musicians and celebrities to develop marketing programs that raise awareness about malaria.

Prior to devoting her career to the health and well-being of children and families in Africa, Yacine honed her skills in the areas of business administration, finance and real estate at several private-sector companies, including Intercontinental Life Insurance Company, where she served as managing director; SAGEF Construction and Real Estate Development Company, where she was director of sales; and Fidelity Investments, where she served as a business analyst.

Yacine earned her bachelor’s degree in international relations and her MBA from Boston University.

Yacine Djibo

Founder & Executive Director

Yacine Djibo founded Speak Up Africa in 2011 with one goal in mind: to discover and implement effective, sustainable solutions to the most challenging problems facing the African people. Focusing on strategic communications, policy and advocacy, Speak Up Africa is dedicated to empowering African leaders and citizens to take on issues such as malaria, neglected tropical diseases and sanitation in order to save and improve lives.

Previously, Yacine worked as the Senegal country director for Malaria No More, where she developed and managed several high-profile national programs to promote malaria prevention and treatment. She built and maintained relationships with national and local government officials; designed and oversaw the distribution of lifesaving commodities countrywide; and cultivated partnerships with private-sector companies, media outlets, musicians and celebrities to develop marketing programs that raise awareness about malaria.

Prior to devoting her career to the health and well-being of children and families in Africa, Yacine honed her skills in the areas of business administration, finance and real estate at several private-sector companies, including Intercontinental Life Insurance Company, where she served as managing director; SAGEF Construction and Real Estate Development Company, where she was director of sales; and Fidelity Investments, where she served as a business analyst.

Yacine earned her bachelor’s degree in international relations and her MBA from Boston University.

Discover our team

Nadia Rozendaal

Senior Advisor

Nadia Rozendaal has more than 20 years of experience in successfully leading and managing international advocacy and fundraising campaigns and has long-term experience in global health, research, development, policy analysis, program management, evaluation and resource mobilization. She currently serves as a Senior Advisor to Speak Up Africa, focusing on The Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN) project. Before joining Speak Up Africa Nadia led the European efforts of Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation resulting to increased financial support for TB vaccine research and development. Nadia also serves as an independent consultant to a variety of global health and biotech organizations focusing on fundraising, business development, and communications and has a broad, influential network in the government, private, and philanthropic sectors.

Nadia became a consultant after serving as a Director for Policy Advocacy Europe for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). From 1994 to 2006 Nadia occupied different positions in Brussels, including Head of cabinet and political adviser in the European Parliament, where she drafted European legislation and policy frameworks in various parliamentary committees on economic affairs, competitiveness, trade, employment, and foreign relations. She was also a Member of the External Speakers Team of the European Commission, a Governmental Affairs expert to various industry and non-profit organizations, and a trainer for European journalism and public affairs schools.

During her time in Brussels Nadia was additionally an election observer of the European Commission and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in conflict areas in several African and Asian countries. Nadia has studied at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), the University Complutense (Madrid) and the Leopold-Franzens University Innsbruck (Austria) and holds master degrees in Modern Roman Languages (cum laude), International Politics and Law, and International Business Administration (cum laude). Nadia is a native German speaker and fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch.

Firdaoss Oluwa-Toyin Youssoufou

Program Associate

Firdaoss Oluwa-Toyin Youssoufou holds a Master’s degree in Public Health with a specialization in Multipurpose and another Master’s degree in Nutrition and Population Health from the Regional Institute of Public Health (IRSP) in Ouidah with basic training in Food Technology Engineering and Nutrition Science from the Ecole Polytechnique d’Abomey-Calavi (EPAC) of the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin. Since her academic career, she has been passionate about managing projects/programs for the improvement of the well-being of populations and vulnerable groups in particular.

Thus, she was a Volunteer of Professional Expertise in Public Health at the level of the Health Zone Office of Abomey-Calavi/Sô-Ava where she became familiar with the management of health services at the peripheral level of the health pyramid of Benin before joining AFRIC’MUTUALITE, an NGO working in the field of community health, social protection and development of populations. At the level of this NGO, she was most recently in charge of the AFRIC’MUTUALITE program before joining Speak Up Africa in 2022. She has experience in developing social safety net projects in food and nutrition security, community food, health and nutrition, early childhood development, malaria prevention, reproductive health, community tuberculosis and keeping girls in school.

She is also committed to changing dietary behaviors that are harmful to the health of populations, alongside her nutritionist colleagues.

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