Oxford Varsity Names MDCN Registrar 2026 Aig-Imoukhuede Visiting Fellow

The University of Oxford has named the registrar and chief executive officer of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Prof. Fatima Kyari, as its 2026 Aig-Imoukhuede Visiting Fellow.

The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, which announced this yesterday, said Kyari would undertake a six-month fellowship at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government from September 2026 to examine how Nigeria can expand medical education, strengthen the health workforce and improve public-sector reforms.

The fellowship, delivered in partnership with the Blavatnik School of Government, is designed to equip exceptional public-sector leaders with deeper knowledge of critical policy challenges and practical approaches to strengthening institutions.

Kyari will join a distinguished list of public-sector leaders who have previously held the fellowship.

They include former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega; former Chief Justice of Ghana, Justice Georgina Wood; former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru; and Director-General of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Funke Adepoju.

According to the Foundation, fellows spend six months working with leading scholars and practitioners while developing policy insights that can be applied in their home institutions.

Kyari’s research will focus on expanding medical education as a strategic public-sector reform while improving quality, strengthening health workforce capacity and responding to changes in the healthcare labour market.

Her study will also develop practical policy recommendations on governance, regulatory stewardship and the implementation of large-scale reforms in health and medical education.

Kyari, a clinician and academic, has worked across healthcare delivery, medical research, health policy, medical education, professional regulation and institutional reform.

At the MDCN, she is leading efforts to strengthen medical education and professional regulation as Nigeria grapples with healthcare workforce shortages, migration and other challenges.

Commenting on her selection, the Executive Vice Chair of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, described Kyari as an example of the type of public-sector leadership the Foundation seeks to promote.

“Professor Fatima Kyari represents the kind of public sector leadership we want to see more of in Nigeria: leaders who see a problem, ask difficult questions and work to build institutions that can deliver better outcomes,” she said.

Aig-Imoukhuede said Kyari’s position at the MDCN placed her at the heart of critical discussions about the future of Nigeria’s healthcare workforce.

“We are pleased to support her Fellowship at Oxford and look forward to the practical ideas that will emerge from her work,” she added.

Kyari said the fellowship would give her an opportunity to examine Nigeria’s medical education and health workforce systems from a broader perspective.

“I am honoured to be selected as the 2026 Aig-Imoukhuede Visiting Fellow,” she said.

She added, “The Fellowship gives me the opportunity to step back from the day-to-day demands of regulation and take a broader look at how Nigeria can build the medical education and health workforce systems needed for the future.”

Kyari said she looked forward to learning from Oxford’s scholarship and experience, engaging with new perspectives and returning the insights to Nigeria as practical ideas.

She said the ideas would help strengthen health workforce governance, medical education and public-sector reform.

The Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation said the fellowship was part of its wider commitment to strengthening public institutions by developing leaders capable of translating evidence and ideas into effective policies, implementation and improved public services.

It added that the programme was designed for exceptional Nigerian public-sector executives and delivered in partnership with Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.