Musimbi Kanyoro

Musimbi Kanyoro, MA, PhD, DMin, has joined the IntraHealth International Board of Directors. Kanyoro is president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, a publicly supported grantmaking foundation that invests in women-led organizations to advance human rights. A native of Kenya, Kanyoro has become an influential advocate for women and girls worldwide over the last 30 years.

“We are thrilled to welcome Musimbi Kanyoro to IntraHealth’s Board,” said Pape Gaye, IntraHealth president and CEO. “Her demonstrated global leadership, focus on the advancement of women and girls and deep understanding of development and philanthropy will contribute greatly to furthering our organizational mission and impact.”

Kanyoro’s professional achievements underscore her longstanding commitment to women’s health and leadership development. Prior to joining the Global Fund for Women, Kanyoro served as the director of the Packard Foundation’s Population and Reproductive Health program, where she led efforts to expand the foundation’s grantmaking to include girls’ education and women’s leadership. Prior to that, she served as general secretary (CEO) of the World YWCA in Geneva Switzerland (1998-2007), and as executive secretary for the Women’s Program of the Lutheran World Federation (1988-1998). She is a founding member of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS—an alliance focused on strengthening AIDS programming for women and girls.

“Global health is not just about diseases; everything is connected to health,” said Kanyoro. “Genuine work on health requires partnering across sectors to explore unprecedented solutions. It is not just about public and private partnerships but pushing frontiers of theory and practice, advocacy and services, access and capacity.”

A minister by training, Kanyoro has been a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School. She has published extensively on gender issues and received many awards throughout her career including the Kenya Government Presidential Award for leadership. Most recently, she was named one of 30 Women Making a Difference by the National Council for Research on Women.

Kanyoro received her master of arts and doctor of philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin; her doctor of ministry from the San Francisco Theological Seminary; and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.