Pamela Onduso

Board Member

The Youth Café is pleased to welcome Pamela Onduso as a new Executive Board member.

Pamela Onduso is a distinguished global public health and development leader with over 30 years of experience designing, managing, and transforming large-scale development programs across Sub-Saharan Africa. Throughout her career spanning Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Rwanda, Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa, and Ghana, she has championed innovative approaches to public health, youth and women’s empowerment, climate resilience, humanitarian response, and community-led development.

Pamela holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Industrial Health Education and a Bachelor of Science in Health Education from East Tennessee State University, USA. She has built a reputation as a strategic and systems-focused leader with extensive expertise in governance, donor stewardship, advocacy, institutional strengthening, and organisational transformation. Her work has consistently focused on reaching underserved and marginalised populations, particularly women, youth, rural communities, and vulnerable groups in fragile and humanitarian settings.

Most recently, Pamela served as Country Director for Pathfinder International Kenya and Global Advocacy Lead, where she oversaw a portfolio exceeding USD 10 million annually and led a team of more than 300 staff. Across her career, she has stewarded over USD 100 million in funding from leading bilateral and multilateral agencies, philanthropic foundations, and corporate partners, including USAID, PEPFAR, FCDO, the World Bank, Ford Foundation, Packard Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Safaricom Foundation, and M-PESA Foundation.

A passionate advocate for social justice and sustainable development, Pamela has contributed to the development of national and regional policies, including Kenya’s Population Policy for Sustainable Development, and has helped scale initiatives that have positively impacted more than 20 million people across Africa. Her expertise spans adolescent and reproductive health, climate adaptation, humanitarian response, institutional capacity strengthening, advocacy, and strategic partnerships.

Beyond her executive leadership roles, Pamela has served on numerous boards, advisory councils, and national technical working groups, including the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), the Health NGOs Network (HENNET), the Centre for the Study of Adolescence, and the National Adolescent Reproductive Health Technical Working Group. She is also the founder of the Network to Combat Harmful Practices Affecting Women in Kenya.

Pamela is committed to advancing equitable development, strengthening local institutions, and empowering communities to drive lasting change. Through her leadership and advocacy, she continues to shape policies, partnerships, and programs that improve health, well-being, and opportunities for millions across the African continent.