New Director of Public Health for Plymouth City Council

Kelechi Nnoaham will be joining Plymouth City Council at the beginning of next month as the new Director of Public Health.

He will take over from Stephen Horsley, who has been the interim Director of Public Health since the departure of Deb Lapthorne to Public Health England last year.

Kelechi will join the Council from Bristol City Council where he currently holds the position of Acting Director of Public Health.

Kelechi has a background in clinical medicine and academic qualifications in public health from the University of Oxford.

With more than 10 years’ experience in Public Health, he has authored academic papers based on synthesis of primary research and use of predictive modelling in public health.

As President and co-founder of the Public Health Foundation of Nigeria, Kelechi’s voluntary International Health work has included designing and delivering capacity building projects for public health and advocating evidence-based public policy for health in Africa.

Kelechi said: “I am looking forward to joining Plymouth City Council in April. The City’s health and wellbeing challenges are significant but its promise is compelling. The vision of the City Council and its Partners for happy, healthy, aspiring communities in Plymouth is clear and I am delighted that I will be part of making it a reality.”

Tracey Lee, Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to have recruited someone of Kelechi’s calibre and experience to this key post. He will bring a new vigour to our work with partners to tackle Plymouth’s health challenges, such as the inequalities between the health and well-being of residents living in different parts of the city. With public health having joined the Council last year there are many exciting opportunities to maximise joint work to make a real difference.”