Dr Alula is a public health specialist with more than 22 years of experience in health care delivery, research, health systems management, program evaluation and health care quality improvement including USG-funded projects from PEPFAR/CDC and NIH and a number of BMGF-funded projects. His areas of expertise comprise of epidemiology, health program evaluation, scientific writing, health education and health promotion, research implementation and translation, policy analysis as well as emergency response and management. As a founder of MERQ and as the CEO of the organization, Alula has led many successful projects in collaboration with both local and international organizations, where he has overseen the growth of a company from a small firm into a multinational evidence generation hub. One of his recent achievements is successfully leading the assessment of the Ethiopian Health Extension Program, a national flagship program

Expertise/focus areas/specialties: Project Management; HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control; Quality Improvement;

Research and professional Passions/interests: Utility focused evaluation; PHC; RMNCAH