Abimbola Adesanmi

About

Bimbola is an experienced leader and manager—a food security and nutrition specialist with over 20 years of experience. She is the West Africa Regional Director of the Partnership for Child Development at Imperial College London. She has served as Senior Special Assistant to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Nutrition, based in the Office of the Vice President (VP). In that role, she supported the VP, who chairs the Nutrition Council of Nigeria (NCN), in advancing the government’s nutrition agenda and coordinating efforts across government, the private sector, and development partners to reduce malnutrition in the country.

Prior to that, she led the implementation of the National Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) Programme—one of the largest school feeding programs in Africa. In this role, she was responsible for developing frameworks and structures aligned with global HGSF standards and strengthening school health, nutrition, and agricultural value chains. She provided guidance and promoted consistency across government levels, ministries, the private sector, and development partners.

Bimbola is Co-Chair of the School Meals Coalition Research Consortium Community of Practice on Nutrition and a member of the National Food Systems Task Team. Throughout her career, she has worked and consulted for several organizations, including the International Potato Center, the World Bank, UNICEF, Food Basket Foundation International, the Micronutrient Initiative, and the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a postgraduate degree in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Ibadan, a certificate in Global Health from Imperial College London, and a certificate in Behavioral Insights in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is passionate about evidence-based programming that drives sustainable development, particularly in developing nations.