Safiya Ya’u Yamel

Safiya Ya’u Yamel (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Katsina) is a senior midwifery and health systems leader with over 23 years of experience advancing maternal, newborn, and child health in Nigeria. She currently serves as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Katsina State, where she provides executive leadership for statewide health services and drives systems‑level reforms across nursing services, public health, and hospital management. Safiya’s career spans clinical midwifery practice, nursing and midwifery education, workforce governance, and senior public‑sector leadership. She has mentored generations of midwives and nurses, strengthened respectful and gender‑responsive maternity care, and championed women’s leadership in health systems. A nationally certified trainer in newborn care, family planning, and health workforce development, she is passionate about expanding the influence of women leaders across MNH systems in West Africa. Fun fact: She enjoys authoring Hausa‑language maternal health books to improve community access to lifesaving information.