Biography of Dr. Mercy Mwangangi

Biography of Dr. Mercy Mwangangi

Name: Dr. Mercy Mukui Mwangangi

Current Position: Chief Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Health Kenya

Age: 33 years / Born 1986 in Machakos

Marital Status: Unmarried but in a Relationship with a Supportive partner.

Parents: Born of a Lawyer mother and a businessman father.

Siblings: One sibling. 23 Year old Michael Mwangangi who is a good Photographer.

High School: Pangani High School

Undergraduate University: Medical School, University of Nairobi, Class of 2009

Masters degree: Health economics: University of Adelaide.

Career goals: Orthopedic surgeon

Dr. Mercy started as an Intern at Machakos Level 5 Hospital where she worked close to 48 hours shifts. She then Worked in Tharaka Nithi, Meru South district where she shifted her career from clinical practice to Public health. At age 23 she served as the District Medical Health Officer in the umbrella 30 clinical health facilities. She was the boss of individuals who were a decade older than her. 3 years later she went to Australia to further her studies under a scholarship in health economics. She was among the 8 chosen candidates for a leadership scholarship out of 10,000 applicants in Africa.

After doing 18-month volunteer work in the ministry of health, she posted in a department in the Ministry of health. She was part of the National health insurance fund (NHIF) team in accessing performance contracts and doing appraisals. 5 months working in the ministry she was promoted to the head of the Health Financing division at 29 years old. She helped in developing the Linda mama programme under the NHIF.

She met the previous cabinet secretary in Washington during a UHC meeting. Together with Sicily Kariuki, she launched the pilot programmed for UHC in Kisumu Over a year ago. She has achieved a lot more in her few years in the ministry.

Prior to being nominated by the president a few months ago to be the CAS, she had received three job offers the previous night. She didn’t know she would be nominated for the position. On the morning of the announcement, she was busy checking county agreements and she thought she was being pranked by the number of calls she got.

She works in very high-pressure situations. She is is a very technical person and now is the one coordinating the things she is used to doing. Dr. Mercy sees herself as the bridge between the Technical and the Political arena of the health sector in Kenya.

She never wanted to go into public health but her father encouraged her to learn. The bedside of the heartbeat or rather her kitchen until she went for the first outreach program which was nutrition-based. It was satisfying, rewarding, and humbling. She missed a ward round in the clinical sector since she still practices as the family doctor to her family. She still feels she will go back to clinical practice because she loves her work. She hasn’t ruled out the possibility of being a politician. She believed in having five iterations of her career and politics is one of them. This comes after villagers back from home where she comes from brewing her to represent them.

As seen, Dr. Mercy worked for her position through sweat with her little regrets being gaining weight while sitting at the office. She also attributes her success to her supportive parents.

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