Ms. Stella Itungu

Member of the transitional High-Level Council

The Chief Executive Officer of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA)

Ms. Stella Itungu is the Chief Executive Officer of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). She served as the Chief Operating Officer before her promotion to the CEO position. Stella leads the COSECSA Secretariat operations and facilitates the College’s main objective of improving and promoting excellence in surgical care and supporting the professional growth of surgeons in the ECSA region through education and training, research and advocacy. Stella also coordinates the functions of the high-level organs (Executive and Council) of the College. She is an Honorary Member of Women in Surgery Africa (WiSA), an award she received in 2022 for her commitment and contribution to Women in Surgery. With over 20 years of experience in managing regional integration programmes in multiple countries, her demonstrated background is in providing oversight and supervisory roles; supporting, advising and guiding the implementation of complex multi-stakeholder and multi-country programmes.

Prior to COSECSA, Stella worked with the World Bank under the East African Community (EAC), a Regional Economic Community, as an Individual Consultant for 10 years.  She coordinated and facilitated the implementation of the World Bank-East African Community $26m - Financial Sector Development and Regionalization Project (EAC-FSDRP) in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda. In this role, Stella implemented the EAC Heads of State Directives and Policy Decisions under the Monetary Union and Common Market Protocols. She was a focal person of the financial sector stakeholders in the EAC region. She worked directly with other Regional Economic Communities, Intergovernmental Organizations, Central Banks, Ministries, Regulatory Agencies, Academic Institutions, Private Sector, Associations and non-state actors. Stella also worked with the African Development Bank (AfDB)Team to appraise, develop and establish the $23m EAC–Payment Systems Settlement and Integration Project (EAC-PSSIP) in addition to implementing the USAID and World Bank Capacity Building Programs in East African Countries.

Stella’s current position in the health sector is no coincidence, before joining the EAC, she worked as a Director of Operations and Programs, on a Private Public Partnership Global Fund pilot project- Malaria Component (Roll Back Malaria Program) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Malaria Consortium in Uganda.

She holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Finance and Investment from Coventry University, UK, and a First Class (Honors) Degree in Public Administration. She is a Certified Project Management Professional (PRINCE©2), trained in Governance and Leadership, and international policy and development.