Dr. Mesfin Teklu Tessema is the Head of the Health Unit at the International Rescue Committee, where he leads IRC’s efforts in diverse areas of health programming and policy. He has more than 25 years of experience in public health, nutrition, and humanitarian affairs. 

Prior to joining the IRC in 2017, Dr. Tessema served in various positions and countries for international humanitarian organizations, most recently serving as the global health lead for World Vision International. He also served as Director of the Geneva office for World Vision International, Senior Nutritionist for Save the Children, and Reproductive Health Advisor for Marie Stopes International in Ethiopia. As a medical doctor, he practiced medicine in Ethiopia's public and private healthcare settings. 

He is also an Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University, an affiliate of the John Hopkins University’s Center for Humanitarian Health, and a member of the Gavi vaccine alliance Partnership Team and the COVAX leadership group. 

Dr. Tessema served on the funding committee for Elrha’s Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises, as a Civil Society representative in the Investors Group of the Global Financing Facility for RMNCAH, the founder and co-director of the executive course on health diplomacy and humanitarian space at the Graduate Institute of Geneva. He is the author of the health chapter in the 2011 edition of the Sphere Handbook: humanitarian charter and minimum standards in humanitarian response. Dr. Tessema earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Jimma University, Ethiopia, and holds a Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance from Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA.