Austin Demby

On February 10th, 2021, Dr. Austin Demby was sworn in as the Minister of Health and Sanitation of the Government of Sierra Leone. Before that he was Acting Director, Office of Global Health at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Dr. Demby began his public health career as a research scientist with CDC in 1980. He then went on to be country director of the CDC field station in Sierra Leone (1987-1989) where he studied Lassa fever and other viral hemorrhagic fevers. He served as a research scientist at the Special Pathogens Branch, Virus Reference Laboratory, Central Public Health Laboratory Services, Colindale, United Kingdom, 1990-1993; as a Research Scientist, Division of Pathology, Center for Applied Microbiology and Research, Porton Down, United Kingdom, 1993-1994; Research Scientist, Special Pathogens Branch, DVRD, NCID 1994-1997; and Senior Staff Fellow, Diagnostic Mycobacteriology, TMB, DASTLR, NCID 1998-1999. From 1999 – 2005 Dr. Demby served as the Team Leader for the laboratory services of the Global AIDS Program (GAP), he was the principal officer responsible for assuring quality laboratory support for all GAP countries and regional programs. Dr. Demby is a founding member of CDC’s Global AIDS Program and between 1999 and 2006, he led several teams that established GAP program offices in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Between 2006 and 2011, Dr. Demby served as the Director of the CDC Malawi program. As the HHS country representative, he had oversight for the HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care activities of CDC and facilitated other major programs funded through HHS sister Agencies HRSA and NIH in Malawi. Between 2011 and 2016, Dr. Demby served as the Director and Deputy Principal for the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), at HHS. In that capacity, Dr. Demby managed the Department’s $2 Billion global HIV/AIDS portfolio implemented by CDC, NIH, FDA, SAMHSA, and HRSA. In 2014-2015, Dr. Demby played a key leadership role in the US Government’s response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. He was the first official from the United States Government to conduct a rapid technical assessment of the situation in Sierra Leone and to sound the alarm bell to the global community. Dr. Demby deployed five times in various capacities to Sierra Leone. Dr. Demby holds a doctorate degree in Clinical Microbiology from the University of London, England, a master’s degree in public health-epidemiology/biostatistics from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.