Dr. Mukhtar Yawale Muhammad is a distinguished Public Health Physician and Medical Epidemiologist. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Maiduguri, a Postgraduate Diploma in Epidemiology from the University of Liverpool, a Master’s in Public Health (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria), a Master’s in Legislative Studies (University of Benin), and an MBA from the University of Cumbria. He also completed an International Course in Applied Epidemiology at Emory University, USA.
Dr. Muhammad joined the Federal Civil Service as a Medical Officer in the Federal Ministry of Health and rose to the rank of Director in 2021. His career spans the public sector and bilateral/multilateral organizations, including Family Health International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), The Global Fund, the World Health Organization, and UNAIDS. He made significant contributions to Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS epidemiology, surveillance, and quality management systems.
He has served as Senior Technical Adviser to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, and as Senior Technical Assistant to the Honourable Minister of Health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as National Incident Manager and later National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, leading the multidisciplinary technical team that shaped Nigeria’s containment strategy, including testing, surveillance, and management of isolation centres.
An alumnus of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Dr. Muhammad has attended numerous leadership and management courses locally and internationally. Prior to his appointment as Federal Permanent Secretary by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, he was Director of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund at the Federal Ministry of Health. He represents the North-West Geo-Political Zone in the Body of Federal Permanent Secretaries. Dr. Muhammad has served as Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, and is currently the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology. He is a recipient of the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).