Dr. Natnael Asres Yamnew is the Director of Programmes and Strategic Partnerships at the African Centre for Early Childhood Development (AfC-ECD) in Addis Ababa, where he leads multi-sectoral programme design, regional scale-up initiatives, and evidence-driven policy collaboration across government, academic, and community systems. He works closely with continental and global partners to strengthen early childhood ecosystems through capacity development, research, and knowledge sharing, and plays a convening role within emerging African networks. Previously, he served as a Research Associate at King’s College London and as an Advisor to the State Minister at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health, advancing different Programs from Maternal health, family planning, to NCD's and National Systems . Dr. Natnael holds master’s degrees in Global Health and Global Surgery from King’s College London, an MPH, and an MD from Jimma University, and brings experience supporting large-scale implementation, cross-regional learning, and partnership development to shape collaboration, he champions locally-led, regionally connected, and globally relevant approaches to early childhood development.